McMonsters
by XxRosieGrlx
Summary: The Hardcore World of Minecraft Monsters. An expelled enderman must eventually return to her home to save the End. However, it can get a bit frustrating for her when it seems like almost everyone hates her, a certain monster won't leave her alone, and the entire End Army wants her to die. Welcome to McMonsters!
1. The Dragon's Rule

**DISCLAIMER: Minecraft belongs to Mojang, which also belongs to Microsoft. I do not own the game. But I do own the characters introduced throughout the story. Enjoy!**

* * *

I've always wondered why does monsters hates players so much?

 _And I've always wondered why monsters die so easily compared to the players. Haha._

Hey, you were supposed to answer my question!

 _Alright, I'll amuse you. Is it because they want to eat the player?_

Do skeletons eat anything though?

 _Do guardians? What about creepers? All they do is explode in your face. And they laugh and go like "Hahahahaha! Busssssted, you idiot!" and then KABOOM._

There must be a deeper motive and reason for that if creepers are willing to be suicidal.

 _I agree. Entertain me, will you?_

Okay, we need to think outside of the box…

 _I don't have all day. Get to the target of your motive._

So, what if the monsters and players' roles are reversed? What if the players are the true bad guys here? What if the monsters are only trying to protect their friends and families?

 _How would that work then, and how would we know that? They'd have to be actual players, not something in spectator mode. And the monsters don't exactly do anything exciting but wander around and make noises._

Oh, that's simple. We simply don't look at the monsters from the ghost player's perspective. But, we have to be selective on which monster we choose. We don't want everyday monsters, do we?

 _Yeah... unless they're zombies eating a villager's brain?_

No! We'll have to look at the most uncommon monsters. Now, I don't mean tall, dark-skinned endermen in the Nether and a great badass dragon flying around in the End. I meant monsters hiding something from the eyes of a regular human.

 _Oh really? Like what?_

The ones I'm thinking of are… _transformers._

 _If they're so special to you, how can you tell who's a "transformer"?_

They have special traits that sets them apart. For example, the enderdragon. She's what the monsters call the Queen. Because of her great size: she's also called a giantess in her secondary form, but that isn't a polite thing to say to her face. Don't call her giantress. Her size is also like that because she needed to produce minions, and you know Enderman are tall as heck, buuuut that's another story for now. Other monsters would have identifying marks, but not all of them do though.

 _When you say the dragon can make minions, do you mean like, bees? The minions as bees?_

Yeah. A lot like bees. Endermen are typically men, hence the name. But the dragon needs to be able to produce female heirs for the next dragon.

 _But how?  
_

Eggs. Endermen can clone themselves. But eggs are what make them special, what makes them independent. The problem is that they fail in making a dragon, and the result is of a female enderman. Basically, failed dragons.

 _So… who's a failure?_

The end princesses; the female endermen. Now, why do you think the dragon drops the one, special egg every time she dies? I'll tell you this now: that's the true egg. But like the female enderman, it's also a failure.

 _This doesn't make sense! What do you mean the true egg is a failure?! Because if it doesn't create a dragon, then how does the egg create a dragon?_

You can't exactly spawn natural dragons outside of the End. Because the End is their natural birthplace. So, when the player takes it away from the End…

 _The endermen will be doomed to endless cloning? And wait, is the dragon the only one who can transform? Into what?_

Yes. But if they bring the dragon egg back… Well, all three questions are up to you to find out the answer...

 _You still hadn't told me fully how the egg can turn into a dragon, and what's the enderman role in it._

Shh…

* * *

The Main End Island was clustered with Endermen, whispering among them selves. They could sense their queen's fury as the dragon bounded from tower to tower. The End crystals crowning the towers lusted after her, streaks of lights beaming towards her when she neared. Stars were empty in the End, an eternal violent mist over their heads. Contrasting against the sky, the endstones were an eerie yellow.

"Endocrine! Will you admit to the fact you sneaked off to the Overworld without _my_ permission?" the dragon swooped down from the sky and landed onto the ground, her purple eyes blazing. Despite the curious crowd, Queen Drelizabeth kept her focus onto the struggling enderman in the center, the one who were being held in place by two other endermen. Endocrine.

Endocrine's body yanked against the two endermen's hold, her purple eyes glaring back up the dragon. Her brain growled, _Never._

The dragon sneered. _"_ If you change into your vulnerable form right now and tell me your answer, then I might just spare you. After all… it's difficult communicating with your fighting face on when you're mute."

 _You change first, I'm not an idiot enough to fall for your trap!_ Endocrine gritted her teeth as the two guards tightened their grips. In response, Endocrine kicked the one the left, knocking him off his feet. Before another could take the downed place, Endocrine pointed to the queen, finally commuting her message. The dragon sighed, rolling her eyes.

With an intense glow from the End crystals, the queen transformed. Her height stood head to head with the tall Endermen, her purple eyes cold. She had golden-hay with greying hair that tumbled down her back. Her black dress and crown defined her status among her people.

Endocrine struggled against her hosts for some time. She teleported, but the monsters brought her back swiftly. Narrowing her eyes, she twisted the skins of their arm. Head butted against their jaws. Kicked. Bit. Stomped. But her kin kept a firm grip and replaced the tiring restrainers. Once five minutes had passed, she grew weary and stilled. With a soundless sigh, Endocrine gathered her magic to her and with it, transformed.

She was a smaller version of her mother. The same purple eyes, the original blonde hair, pale skin tone, and hair style of Queen Drelizabeth's. But she wore a different outfit compared to the queen: purple dress that reached to her midriff and a long black jacket. Completed with tall, dark, water-proof boots.

The endermen pushed her down to her knees. Endocrine's head lifted and her eyes continued glowered at the queen, her lips pursed and her body stiff. _I. Hate. You. Idiot.  
_

The crowd increased their murmuring, glancing at each other. More curious Endermen joined the crowd, wondering which princess is to be banished next. Or what had happened recently from the week before… slaughtered by the dragon herself.

"I've had enough of your rebellious attitude!" Queen Drelizabeth snarled. "You are no longer welcomed in the End! If you dare to return, you will be executed! After all… it's what you wanted in the first place, to leave the End. Isn't that right, Endocrine?"

Endocrine's face twitched. She waited for the queen's servants to release her. But… suddenly, an enderman splashed bottled water onto her left side of her face. She writhed against the guard's grips, desperate to wipe the acid from her skin. The water dripped down her face, leaving behind a scorching and blinding burn. She erupted a soundless scream. The queen gave a purr of satisfaction as she changed into her dragon form.

"Captain Dryan?" The queen scanned the crowd as Endocrine struggled to remain conscious.

An enderman stepped forward. He dipped low. "Queen Drelizabeth?"

"I am putting you in charge of bringing forth Princess Endocrine's punishment if she…" the dragon glanced towards her wounded daughter. "… came home."

The queen smirked as Endocrine finally gained enough strength to teleport. With a flash of light, she left the End. To never return as long the dragon lived.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Next chapter will be posted on December 30th. I have a biweekly schedule for McMonsters.**

 **Thank you so much for clicking on this story and reading it all the way through the first chapter!**


	2. Endermen Sulking like Shulkers

Many years passed since Endocrine's banishment, and more and more of the princesses were killed rather than exiled. The dragon, whether she was in her giantess or dragon form, ruled merciless. Her merciless ruling reduced the chances of an uprising against her. Eventually through the many trials of banishment or execution, there were no female endermen left in the End.

A new player joined after Endocrine's exile; who had slaughtered many beloved friends and families. They said her name was Alex. There's nothing wrong about being Alex, she's just not what the monsters expected. The world was set in hardcode, yet she had survived for two years of continuous attacks.

One day, Alex showed up into the End on an obsidian platform. She was fully stocked with a complete diamond armour set, shields, and enchanted weapons.

Alex rolled her shoulders. She then pulled out a stack of cobblestones, and then built a thick bridge to the end island where the end pillars and the dragon awaited.

Queen Drelizabeth growled, flexing her claws. "Do not come to help; Alex is only seeking to slay me. However..." the dragon turned to look at her subjects. "Defend the end island if anything unfortunate happens."

Drelizabeth spread her wings and took to the sky. The end crystals' lights followed her, ready to provide regeneration.

Alex pulled out a bow from her inventory. She glanced towards the pillars, watching the rays tagging the dragon. Alex nocked the arrow, pulling the string back, to where the feather tickled her cheek. She aimed, and then released the arrow. The arrow flew through the murky atmosphere, and then landed directly onto a crystal. The top of the end tower exploded, drawing the attention of the dragon.

The queen roared, swooping low. Alex spun and shot the dragon's head before it could head butt her. Drelizabeth growled before changing course.

The ender dragon flew for the deactivated portal exit. She turned to face Alex. She inhaled, and then spewed purple dragon fire. Alex took out a few empty bottles and collected the special magic from a safe distance for future use. Then the player fled, heading for another unprotected tower.

Alex shot down three more end crystals. She began to climb the remaining towers which had iron bars protecting the crystals. Drelizabeth attempted to brush her off the pillar, so Alex had to ward the dragon off with arrows.

Below the fighting, the endermen watched, a few chewing on their lips.

The player mined through the iron bars, and then used her diamond sword to break the crystal. The End Crystal exploded, nearly knocking Alex off. Queen Drelizabeth took the opportunity to charge. Alex noticed the dragon coming for her just in time and her diamond sword slashed at the monster's skin. The dragon turned away, black ooze falling out from her wound.

Tower after tower, the dragon would head butt Alex, taunt her by flying far enough to avoid Alex's sword but remain close, and occasionally drift by the remaining crystals to heal her wounds. The sequence repeated until the player had destroyed the final crystal on the tallest tower.

The player mined down her temporal cobblestone tower, only stopping to block the snapping dragon jaws. "Ki-ki-ki-ki-ki," Alex laughed as the dragon flew away again.

Once Alex was safely on the ground, the dragon waited for Alex as she perched over the deactivated portal. Queen Drelizabeth growled, "Now are you ready to fight me, since you destroyed my precious crystals?"

Alex didn't waste a single moment. She dashed towards the boss monster, her sword high and shield ready. The dragon spun, her tail swatting Alex onto her side.

Alex spat, bile rising in her mouth.

The human smirked up at the dragon. She rolled backwards onto her foot, narrowly missing another attack of dragon fire from Queen Drelizabeth. Alex pulled her bow out. She began shoot with precision at the monster, walking right on the edge of the dragon's poisonous magic as she circled. Drelizabeth darted up into the sky. Swooped. Alex ducked before the queen's talons could cut into her skin.

"Hah!" Alex yelled, switching to her enchanted sword. Before she could chase after the ender dragon, a trembling enderman attacked Alex. With three careless, timed hits, Alex butchered the enderman into dust.

The dragon came down from Alex's left, head butting the player. Alex growled. Drelizabeth escaped to the sky. Alex ate her steak, restoring her health bars to full. Then she chased the dragon with her bow ready. She shot it. Twice. Thrice. The dragon flew around a tower, blocking the queen's body from Alex's view and arrows. Alex dashed to the end tower. Queen Drelizabeth appeared back into sight, her purple eyes murderous. Alex sent another arrow flying to her face.

The boss monster roared and lowered. Alex ducked. Drelizabeth darted back up. Alex shot an arrow into her side.

The queen fled to the portal, her throat rumbling. Alex followed her to her destination, sprinting. The queen inhaled, and then blew a longer trail of acidic fire. Alex had to run to the right, the trail of fire stalking her. Another deep, dizzyingly breath from the dragon.

Acid licked Alex's feet. She twitched, wincing. She nocked another arrow…

And delivered the fatal wound to the dragon.

The enderman gazed on with their eyes widening as the queen choked. Alex smirked as she lowered her faithful bow. The dragon's body lifted to the sky, lights illuminating from her wounds. The queen's scales began to explode, exposing more violet lights.

Then, all at once, the egg dropped as the dragon's body turned into black, starred blood. The blood fell upon the portal like an abundance of soup splashing into a bowl, which activated Alex's route home. The endermen gasped.

Alex performed her victory dance, and then collected the experience orbs. Then she tapped on the dragon's egg. The egg teleported and fell near her. Alex placed a piston next to the egg, activated the piston to shrink the egg enough to fit into Alex's inventory. The human collected it, and finally jumped into the dragon's blood to warp her back to her home.

Some of the endermen couldn't hold their grief back anymore. They fell to their knees, sobbing for their lost queen. The tears that they wept destroyed them swiftly, allowing the subjects to join their queen in death out of loyalty.

* * *

A few days passed since the death of the queen. Alex returned to raid the End Cities, reducing the population and taking the dragon's head and the end's prized treasures. Later, on another end island, a group of endermen, shulkers, and endermites had gathered together and formed a meeting. General Dryan, having ranked up over the few years since Endocrine's banishment, stood at the head of the meeting.

"We have two heirs remaining," Dryan called out, his hands leaning on the table. "Elanie and… Endocrine."

One of the newest citizen from the city of End slammed his fist on the obsidian-table. "I say we vouch for Elanie!"

A shulker sneered, "Are you out of your minds? Elaine is not as powerful as Endocrine. Don't you remember what happened when-?"

"So what?" the enderman snarled. "We don't always need a powerful queen! We need a wise dragon who doesn't go around terrorizing Enders with her torturous punishments!"

Several monsters grunted in agreement, including Dryan.

"This is the first time in history we actually have a kinder princess being one of the last standing," The shulker huffed.

"The end city will go down in chaos if we don't have a powerful queen," a transformer spoke up, his black hair pulled back in a slightly long ponytail. "However, I do look forward to change of a more… _happier_ future."

One of the older enderman scoffed. "You were always the one to break traditions, Azza. Besides, you know- Long live Queen Drelizabeth! -would prefer Endocrine over Elanie. Won't you respect her legacy by choosing Endocrine?"

"To be frank, I have to agree with Azza. I made a promise to destroy Endocrine if she ever stepped in the End. So I'll drag you down to hell with legacies." Dryan's eyes stared down the old enderman. The old enderman scoffed and glanced away.

Silence filled the room until a new shulker spoke up, "What if we let whoever brings the egg here first to be our queen? That would prove who will be the better dragon, right?"

The room erupted into chaos as the end creatures began debating and bickering with each other.

Unknown to the meeting holders, an enderman with an eye patch was sneaking into the End. The solitude enderman tiptoed across the island with the broken pillars, and then teleported onto a very small island. On the island was a large statue representing the queen. The eye-patched enderman shifted forms.

It was Endocrine, but she had fashioned an eye patch and her hair covered the left part of her face. She stared coldly at the engraving of a language in the tongue of the End. It read: " _BELOVED QUEEN AND MOTHER. QUEEN DRELIZABETH. ENDER DRAGON. DIED 2,455 IN-GAME DAYS. LONG LIVE THE QUEEN."_

Endocrine bowed her head. She had paid her respect. She didn't feel distraught, happy, or mad. She was a little miffed, but… _A queen has to do what she's got to do to insure the end's future._ Endocrine sighed, looking up at the queen's cold face. _Right… mother?_

Meanwhile, back to the meeting, the room had settled back down slightly.

"So, if we agree to let Elanie become the next ruler, we would murder Endocrine before she reaches the egg. That way, the moment Elanie comes back, transformation and a new reign has begun." Dryan's eyes flickered around the room, lingering on those who looked like they wanted to disagree.

"But what if Endocrine kills Elanie?" Azza raised an eyebrow.

Dryan scoffed. "Surprisingly, Endocrine actually has a heart for few. I don't think she could even manage to kill her younger sister."

An endermite bursted into the room, squeaking. The old enderman stood up. "It's Endocrine! She's here!"

The general cursed boldly, causing a few Enders to jump and pale. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go! Go! Go!"

One moment, Endocrine was alone in her thoughts, and the next she suddenly found herself surrounded. Endocrine crooked her head as she turned around slowly, surveying her enemies. She placed a hand on her hip, and then used another hand to flip her hair. She smiled coyly. _Well, well, well, looks who've decided to join the haunt?_ Her brain scoffed.

"Endocrine! You will always be a cast-out in this universe!" General Dryan growled.

Endocrine rolled her eyes and shifted her hips, folding her arms. _So what?_ _Not like you can do anything about it._

Dryan stepped forward. "According to the law of- Long Live the Queen! We have permission to remove you, _brat!_ "

As on cue, the nearest monster lunged for her. Endocrine teleported at the last, teasing moment. With a flourish bow, she spun around and morphed into her fighting form. She winked back at them the best she could with one eye, and then teleported away.

"After her!" A shulker yelled. A group of shulkers rose up, shooting trails of white particles. Dryan began barking orders before teleporting after Endocrine.

The princess toppled over as a projectile hit her, causing her to float upwards. Endocrine teleported back onto the ground. She hissed as she levitated her up once again. _Gah! Idiotic Shulkers!_ Endocrine looked over her back. General Dryan and a few other enders were hot on her trail. Several more shulker bullets crashed into Endocrine, lifting her up higher. Endocrine's eye twitched.

Endocrine teleported, jamming her fists into the endstone. She waited for one of the endermen men to come closer so she could use them like a propeller. But they never did.

A shulker bullet hit Dryan, stopping him in his path as he slowly flew away. His group halted, peering up at him. Endocrine smirked. _Goodbye, idiot!_

"Watch where you're shooting, dumbskull!" Dryan roared over his shoulder, floating over Endocrine's head.

Endocrine sprang back to her feet once the levitation wore off, sprinting away from a few end creatures who've gotten a little too closer for her comfort. She ducked under Dryan's grasps as she hurled past him. _Sorry, idiot, but you need to lighten up._

Some of the endermen teleported in front of her, but then she would smack them away before darting past them. Finally, she teleported into the end rod and landed onto the main ender island.

"Don't let her get to the portal!"

Endocrine pressed herself harder, refusing to look back.

A shulker bullet collided with the enderman's head. She stumbled forward, her feet lifting off the ground once again. But she could see the end portal now, which was her way out. She teleported onto the bedrock, and then plunged her way in before she could take off flying again.

At first, Endocrine felt numb as she stood in a vast of blue sky. But then the overworld appeared and the wind began gushing around her. The wind lifted her like she was a kite, thanks to the levitation effect. When she was about ten blocks from the ground, she teleported and gripped to the tall grass.

As she hung on, her eyes studied the terrain for some place to hide. There was nothing but a field of grass, a sun with rolling clouds, and bleating sheep.

Endocrine teleported, relieved that the shulker's effect were now gone. Endocrine walked across the field, glancing over her shoulder. _Com'on, com'on, at least give me a cave._ The End Army will appear any second now…

The enderman fell into a underground cave, which was hiding in the tall grass. _Ow!_ Her brain yelped, shock riding up her legs. She hissed and grimaced, stepping around tenderly. Endocrine froze as she heard voices up above.

"Spread out! She couldn't have gone far!" Dryan barked.

 _Yeah, and I'm right under you, idiots._ Endocrine pressed herself against the cold cave wall, eying the opening in the ceiling. She stilled her breath and waited until she couldn't hear the vwooping of the endermens' magic.

* * *

 **Author's Note: I had to tweak the dragon fight a little bit because the PC 1.9 change in fight was a bit… erm, boring? Anticlimactic? So I combined the new and old dragon fight and added a few styles of my own to make it more exciting.**

 **~Rosie**


	3. To the Spider's Den

The eye-patched enderman let out a long sigh once she couldn't hear the End army anymore. _That was a close call._

Endocrine stepped away from the wall, her purple eye glowing in the dark. She headed to her left, wanting to get away before the End army could return. The enderman wandered throughout the cave, stepping over a few loose pebbles as she moved deeper.

Suddenly, Endocrine's head bumped against the ceiling. _Wha?_ Endocrine shook her head, her ears ringing from the shock. Endocrine glared at the lowered ceiling, concentrating as she shifted forms.

Although she won't be able to see as well in her human form, but she won't have to bend over. Fighting or walking with an aching back isn't her idea of entertainment.

Endocrine wiped her hands on her long jacket, continuing down her way into the cave. Once in a while, the little tunnel would come to an end, so she had to back up or knock onto the walls for a hollow sound. If there was another cave nearby, she'd listen for the sound of sloshing water. Endocrine didn't want to die because she teleported into the wrong place.

Cobwebs slowly started to decorate the walls as the underground path became more organized. Soon, the rails had decorated the floor and the wooden planks supported the seemingly firm ceiling. Endocrine placed her hands on her hips as she glanced up at the beam. _Huh. An abandonded mineshaft. I've never been in one before._

As she moved through the mineshaft, Endocrine grew aware of the skeleton skulls and bones lying scattered across the room. She stepped over a few, keeping an eye on them like they would suddenly come to live and suffocate her until she was one of them. She peered into another hallway. An eerie wail vibrated throughout the cave. She shivered. Then she blinked as a minecart with a chest in it creaked as it rolled towards Endocrine.

Her throat tightened as she heard the tiny patter of footsteps approaching. Grabbing a rogue torch hanging on one of the support beams, she turned it towards the noises.

One by one, the owners of black, thin legs neared the torch, the light bouncing off their ruby-like eyes. Endocrine registered them as spiders as she took a step back.

More and more spiders stopped near the torch, hissing. Endocrine's eye widen as she took a step back. She waved the torch like it would ward off the spiders. It didn't.

The cave spiders dropped from the ceiling. Then they began to stalk, some of spiders creeping up on the wall. One instinct overwhelmed Endocrine- _Run!_

Endocrine dropped the torch as she took off, her boots thudding on the rails. The spiders leaped after the human, spitting insults. Her hair seemed to get caught in webs and dusts- not like it was clean anyways- as she stumbled over the bones and broken rails.

Endocrine dashed to the left corridor. The spiders screeches rose in dynamics as a new wave emerged from another location. Endocrine collided into a mess of cobwebs. She struggled. Teleported out of the sticky webs. She broke into a sprint.

As Endocrine ran, she jumped over a small cave spider. However, she as she landed, she tripped over a piece of stick in the rail system on the floor. Endocrine flew back onto her feet as the spiders approached nearer. She stumbled to a stop as a spider popped out from a hole in the ceiling. She punched the spider before fleeing.

A large clearing emerged with a cliff as Endocrine ran out of the halls. Endocrine to skidded to a stop once as the cliff threatened to drop her down into lava river. Endocrine glanced behind her, but she was stuck as she saw the spiders screeching towards her.

On the brighter side, there's enough room for her to shift forms into her rougher and harder enderman skin. She didn't exactly have the protection as her softer skin were more vulnerable to their venomous bites _._

She began her transformation as the spiders jumped onto Endocrine and sank their teeth into her skin. Once her hand turned into coarser skin, she swatted the spiders off. More spiders jumped on. The enderman pushed them off. She kicked a spider and briefly watched it collide against a vein of iron ore. The venom swept through Endocrine's flaky blood.

Endocrine finished her transformation. She held her fists out, ready to sucker punch a spider to death. The spiders paused and backed away, forming into a miniature barricade. She glared at the blinking red eyes as her health bar dropped to one. Her nerves shook in alarm by the sudden silence except for her own panting. The bones seemed to taunt as it glared at her.

A spider stepped out, glancing at its kin, and then to Endocrine. It walked past Endocrine calmly, losing all interest to eat her. The enderman's face scrunched. _What's going on?_

One by one, the spiders followed the leader until they reached the edge of the cliff. Then they climbed down over the cliff. Endocrine's hands lowered, crooking her head. The threat was vanishing, but Endocrine couldn't quite wrap her brain around the sudden change of action.

One of the cave spiders squeaked and waved for the enderman's attention. Endocrine glanced down at it. It gestured to the other side of the gap. Endocrine hesitated, then shook her spider hissed.

Endocrine blinked. _Sure, I guess? Not like I'll die either way._

Endocrine concentrated, and then teleported to the other side of the valley. Some of the arachnids hissed in alarm. They muttered angrily, but continued to stalk in formation.

Endocrine opened her inventory and pulled out her chorus fruit. Then she took a bite as she studied the room. The floor was smooth, lined with an occasional cobblestone like the abounded mineshaft. Not to mention the large tunnel-like space. Cobwebs decorated the walls in several patterns, with torches complimenting the designs as it dimly lit the cave. As for the ceiling… it was boring compared to the walls and floor. It was just lined with smooth stones.

Endocrine ate her last fruit which restored her health to full. _Oh, come on._ She halted, glaring at her empty hand. _I forgot to restock my food supply while I was at the End Islands. Ugh._

The spiders split their lines; crawling onto the walls. Endocrine's eye followed the ascending monsters. _How the heck am I supposed to climb that?_ There weren't any place for Endocrine to grab a grip, since it was so… smooth. Unless she punched a few holes…?

A throaty hiss from above interrupted the human-morpher's thoughts. "Welcome Prrrrinc-sssessssssssss."

Endocrine startled, looking up. _What? Where? Who?_

"Forrrgive my sssssubjects for attacking you… Alexssssss the playerrr had been unkind to ourrr kin." A large spider hanged down from the ceiling. It was old, with bits of its skin were peeling and scarred. Endocrine stepped out of the way to let it land.

"Rrrrelax, prrrinc-sssessss… I assssk you to let down yourrrr fighting ssssstance."

Endocrine pursed her lips and folded her arms. _Yeah, right. I'm not looking forward to being a meal. Thank you very much._

The old spider sneered. "I can ssssstill kill you eitherrrr way, enderrrrrman or human. Issssss that what'sssss you'rrrrre sssso worrrrrried about? I think we'll communicate the bessssst with the human facial forrrrrm. They'rrrrre… sssso exprrrressssssive, arrrren't they?"

Endocrine deadpanned, staring at the talking spider. _Fine. Whatever. I'll amuse you._

She morphed into her human form, raising her eyebrow, unimpressed. Her arms were still folded.

The spider took a deep, shaky breath. "We arrrrre hungrrrry… Prrrrinc-sssesssss… it isss yourrr duty to brrrring usssss dinner."

Endocrine scrunched her face, shaking her head. _Since when? Sheesh. You spider idiots are confusing._

"The prrrrrinc-ssssessssesssss prrrromisssed to feed ussssss in rrrreturrrn for prrrrotect-sssshun."

Endocrine sighed, rolling her eye. Her arms fell to her sides. _Who told you idiots I needed protection? I'm fine._

"All had failed becausssssse they werrrre foolisssssssh… and we perrrisssssh!" the spider spat, trembling.

 _Is this a joke?_

"Prrrrinc-ssesss… do you prrrrromissse to feed ourrr familiesssss?"

Endocrine pursed her lips, deciding that the old spider in front of her was serious. Sassily, she tapped her chin. _How about… no._ She shook her head, turning to leave.

Endocrine froze as the spiders dropped from the ceiling, arching their backs and hissing. Endocrine took a step back.

"Do you know what we do to prrrrrrrrrrrinc-sssesssssessss who disssssagrrree?"

Endocrine threw her head back, slowly turning back to the old spider. _Let me guess, you eat them?_

The spider smirked, her rotting fangs showing. "I think you have a clearrrrr idea, don'-sssst you?"

Endocrine's jaw clenched as her neck returned to a more natural position on her body. _Clear as a glass pane._

The spider sneered, taking slow, delicate yet menacing steps towards Endocrine. "Sssssso what do you sssssay? Do you wisssssh to feed ussss… or feed yourrrsssssself to ussss!?"

Endocrine's heart cart wheeled, as the old spider and her servants closed onto her; hissing. Endocrine's eyes swept across the room. No room to teleport without being swarmed by starving spiders. Plus, who knows how far she was from the surface? She was stuck.

Endocrine threw her hands up. _Stop!_

The hissing faded away. Endocrine turned to fully face the scarred spider. The human stood tall, looking down coldly at the old spider. Endocrine gave the spider a single bob, which made the over-sized spider looked like a wolf trying to mimic a smile. She purred in satisfaction. "Wonderrrrful sss-choice, prrrrinc-sssessss."

"There she is!" a booming voice erupted. Endocrine flinched and spun with the smaller spiders. She took as step back as she looked straight at the General Enderman. General Dryan stood there, panting and his purple eyes narrowed. His cobweb-covered hand was pointed directly to her head.

The old spider hissed, stepping around Endocrine to look at the invading End army. "Tonight!" it screeched, "We feed!"

The cave shook, spiders darting past Endocrine. The cold wind tugged at the human morpher's hair, causing some of the webs to drift off.

"Hold your lines!" Dryan roared, shoving spiders off as they jumped onto him.

Instead of heading towards the battle, the old spider jumped and knocked Endocrine over. _Hey! What gives?_

The elderly spider whispred, its breath smelling like spoiled egg and rotting flesh. "Follow the cousssssins, they will be with you." With that, the old spider jumped off Endocrine and lunged towards the nearest enderman.

After a few seconds, Endocrine felt a stick-like object poke her head. She twisted to look at a spider and an unusually small cave version. They clattered, their red eyes flickering around the room.

The human pushed herself to her feet, but she ducked as a snarling spider flew over her head. Endocrine glanced towards the two cousins as they skittered towards a corner. Endocrine glanced back at the brawl, and then she dashed after them.

She slowed to a stop once the spider revealed a short but wide dark cave to crawl into. They pointed to it. "Gi-Eee."

Then the spiders scurried into it, the darkness absorbing them. Endocrine got onto her knees and crawled after them.

Somehow, the darkness wasn't that dark; since the spider's dark bodies were somewhat visible. Well, at least to Endocrine's vision.

Endocrine dug the webs apart with her elbows as she shuffled. When Endocrine couldn't move anymore, the cousins had to help her by dragging her through the sticky webs. After a certain point in the tunnel, a dim redstone torch would illuminate the webs crimson red. Or was that fresh blood on the web itself?

An unknown source of explosion erupted, the loud sound of crumbling startled Endocrine. The shock caused the morpher to hit her head. Endocrine winced as her skull throbbed while the spider continued lugging her body through the cobwebs. She could hear the Enders yelling and cursing in their native tongues as the arachnids hissed and squeaked.

To the human's relief, the short cave expanded into an another abandoned mineshaft. She stood up, pulling a few webs off. When Endocrine looked up, an empty minecart was waiting for the trio. Like the spiders knew this would happen… somehow. Maybe as an emergency escape plan? Endocrine squinted at the cart.

The cave spider squeaked and tugged Endocrine's jacket, pointing to the cart. Endocrine nodded, understanding the message the spider was trying to express. She skimmed over the rails to jump into the cart. The cart complained with a quiet "bang."

The spiders began arguing, the cave spider acting like she insisted on pushing the cart while the bigger spider scoffed and snickered. Like he didn't believe his smaller cousin could push it by herself.

"Gewwah Lessseh!" the cave spider protested.

The cave opening exploded, pebbles and dust flying over the bickering spiders. The cave spider smirked, her cousin grumbling and scrambling into the cart. The bigger spider grunted in greeting to Endocrine, keeping an eye on his cousin whom was attempting to push the mine cart. The cart groaned and inched forward.

Another explosion shook the cave, bringing the endermen into the clearing. But the mine cart picked up speed and swooped down the hill.

General Dryan cursed under his breath and broke a block that was in his way. He dashed after them, but a cave spider tackled him and injected venom. Scowling, the general squished it and then brushed it off. He shouted, "Do not let her get away!"

Meanwhile, the cave spider clung onto her cousin desperately as the ride sped up. Endocrine gripped the edge of the cart, her mouth closed and firm. The spider managed to get his cousin into the cart, heaving a sigh of relief.

Endermites popped from the ceiling, the spiders squealing as they fell in the minecart. Endocrine punched one of the mites, shoving it in front of them. It squeaked and died as the mine cart bumped over it.

Endocrine noted that the spiders turned the remaining mites into snacks. They wolfed it down, seeming to be much happier now they've ate a bit.

The cart turned, Endocrine's eye widening as the cart rolled down a steeper hill. The wheels began clicking like a TNT about to go off. Endocrine could see that the end of the rollercoaster had a bump that curved the rails upwards, and then a great chasm.

The spiders screamed, popping Endocrine's ears. The human tightened her hold as she glared at the screeching cousins. _Shut up, you idiots!_

The redstone torches seemed to blink in warning as they sped by. The next thing they knew, the cart was a miniature rocket as it took off.

General Dryan teleported onto the edge of the rails, roaring, "No!" With another rapid teleportation, he lunged for the cart, his arms stretching towards them. Endocrine looked behind her, her breath escaping.

Luck was on the spiders' side, unfortunate for Dryan. The cart moved out of Dryan's range, his extended hand managing to brush the iron. Gravity began to take hold of him first since he didn't have the velocity that the Minecart had, pulling him farther away from the mine cart.

He yelled, clawing the air as he fell. Dryan managed to teleport to safety at the last moment before he hit the bottom, breathless. He prepared to teleport to the other side of the chasm and capture Endocrine, but the spiders tackled him.

The mine cart flew through a well-placed cave opening and into the night sky. The cart began to fall, the cold air whooshing around the monsters.

The cart thundered as it landed, sparks licking the wheels as the mine cart swerved. The cart toppled onto its side, burning the metal with a loud "SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEECCCCCCHHHH" as velocity flung them across the terrian. The monsters tried to avoid the harsh scraping from the rocks, but the bigger spider managed to get one of his foot burnt.

The cart started to slow with a grinding sound, nearing a curious zombie. The zombie backed up as the cart stilled, the awful sounds disappearing. Then the passengers relaxed as they collapsed against onto ground.

"Whoa," the zombie breathed as the dazed monsters stared at each other. Well, the zombie focused onto Endocrine...

* * *

"Filthy, disgusting spiders," General Dryan grumped, ripping a spider head off its body. "They think they're so superior, it's pathetic." He walked over the corpses of dead Enders and arachnids. The endermites were attending to the badly wounded soldiers.

He came to a stop in front of the scarred, old spider. Its pearly eyes were glassy and open. The general sneered and impaled its skull with his foot. The spider's goo burnt his coal-coloured skin. "Shame we have a teleportation limit rule, really, otherwise their pathetic attempts would be in vain."

An enderman limped to Dryan as he pulled his itching feet out of the goo. "Sir! We are too weak to continue chasing the convict. Rumors are also flying that the future queen is appromiately six hundred-twenty-seven blocks south and five-hundred block east of Alex's spawn! Sir!" the wounded enderman saluted.

"Find Azza and send a peace troop there," General Dryan ordered, "Let her know that she is the queen we desire."

"Sir, what will we do with our wounded Enders? The liquid from the goo and blood is making it difficult to heal."

"Send the dead or dying home, let their brothers mourn. For the rest of the army; we'll continue the next hour."

The solider's jaw stiffened. "But sir-"

General Dryan slapped him. "Are you talking back to your superior?!"

"N-n-no." the enderman trembled.

"Next time you talk back to me, you will receive worse," General Dryan growled. "Send me a nurse and a clean towel! You are dismissed."

Once the general was alone once again, he mused, "It's a shame Endocrine was a fool… She'd make an interesting dragon." His purple eyes closed. "I'm sorry for failing you, Queen Drelizabeth. I will kill her next time. I will even if it takes Minecraft to kneel over and flare!"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Holy cow, I was so tempted to replace "entertainment" with "** _ **endertainment**_ **" XDD**

 _Why did the enderman cross the road?_

 _To reach to the other **End**_

 **Is anyone having a fun time with pronouncing "Prrrrrinc-sssessssesss?" She really knows her r's and s's haha (I say it like purrrin-sss-es-essss)**

 **~Rosie**

 **PS: I last thoroughly edited this in the 26th of August (2017) since my editing style had changed for the better. I cleared up confusion. The other chapters are briefly changed but they needed to be edited. I apologize for all of the confusion and inconsistency in chapters 1-6!**


	4. Zombie Soiree

The eye-patched enderman let out a long sigh once she couldn't hear the End army anymore. _That was a close call._

Endocrine stepped away from the wall, her purple eye glowing in the dark. She headed to her left, her back facing away from the afternoon light. The enderman wandered throughout the cave, stepping over a few loose pebbles as she moved deeper.

Suddenly, Endocrine's head bumped against the ceiling. _Wha?_ Endocrine shook her head, then glared at the lowered ceiling. She concentrated as she shifted forms. Although she won't be able to see as well, but she won't have to bend over. Fighting or walking with an aching back isn't her idea of entertainment.

Endocrine wiped her hands on her long jacket. Then she continued down her way into the cave. Once in a while, the little tunnel would come to an end, so she had to back up or knock onto the walls for a hollow sound. If there was another cave nearby, she'd listen for the sound of sloshing water. Endocrine didn't want to die because she teleported into the wrong place.

Cobwebs slowly started to decorate the walls as the underground path became more organized. Soon, the rails had decorated the floor and the wooden planks supported the seemingly firm ceiling. Endocrine placed her hands on her hips as she glanced up at the beam. _Huh. An abandonded mineshaft. I've never been in one before._

As she moved through the mineshaft, Endocrine grew aware of the skeleton skulls and bones lying scattered across the room. She stepped over a few, keeping an eye on them like they would suddenly come to live and suffocate her until she was one of them. She peered into another hallway. An eerie wail vibrated throughout the cave. She shivered. Then she blinked as a minecart with a chest in it creaked as it rolled towards Endocrine.

Her throat seemed to tightened as she heard the tiny patter of footsteps approaching. Grabbing a rogue torch hanging on one of the support beams, she turned it towards the hissing.

One by one, black, thin legs neared the torch, the light bouncing off their ruby-like eyes. More and more spiders stopped next to the first kin, growling. Endocrine's eye widen as she took a step back. She waved the torch like it would ward off the spiders. It didn't.

The cave spiders dropped from the ceiling. Then they began to stalk, some of spiders creeping up on the wall. One instinct overwhelmed the morpher- _Run!_

Endocrine dropped the torch as she took off, her boots thudding on the rails. The spiders leaped after the human, spitting insults. Her hair seemed to get caught in webs and dusts- not like it was clean anyways- as she stumbled over the bones and broken rails.

Endocrine dashed to the left corridor. The spiders screeched in dynamics as a new wave emerged from another location. Endocrine collided into a mess of cobwebs. She struggled. Teleported out of it. Ran. Jumped over a small cave spider. Tripped. Flew back onto her feet as the spiders approached nearer. Punched an unsuspecting spider. Fled.

She skidded to a stop once a large clearing before her popped out, threatening to drop her down the cliff and into the lava river. On the brighter side, there was enough room for her to shift forms into her rougher and harder skin. She didn't exactly have the protection as her thicker enderman skin had. She was more vulnerable to their bites _._

She began her transformation as the spiders jumped onto Endocrine and bit deeply. Once her hand turned into coarser, thicker skin, she swatted the spiders off. More spiders jumped on. The enderman pushed them off. She kicked a spider and briefly watched it collide against a vein of iron ores. The venoms swept through Endocrine's flaky blood.

Endocrine finished her transformation. She held her fists out, ready to sucker punch a spider to death. The spiders paused and scurried off. They formed into a miniature barricade. She glared at the blinking red eyes as her health bar dropped to one. Her nerves shook in alarm by the sudden silence except for her own panting. The bones seemed to taunt as it popped out to her.

A spider stepped out, glancing at its kin, before walking past Endocrine. The enderman's face scrunched as the spider ignored her. _What's going on?_

One by one, the spider followed the leader, and paused by the lava edge. Then they climbed down over the cliff. Endocrine's hands lowered, crooking her head. The threat was vanishing, but Endocrine couldn't quite wrap her brain around the sudden change of action.

One of the cave spiders squeaked and waved for the enderman's attention. Endocrine glanced down at it. It gestured to the other side of the gap. Endocrine hesitated, then shook her spider hissed.

Endocrine blinked. _Sure, I guess? Not like I'll die either way._

Endocrine concentrated, and then teleported to the other side of the valley. Some of the arachnids hissed in alarm. They muttered angrily, but continued to stalk in formation.

Endocrine opened her inventory and pulled out her chorus fruit. Then she took a bite as she studied the room. The floor was smooth, lined with an occasional cobblestone like the abounded mineshaft. Not to mention the large tunnel-like space. Cobwebs decorated the walls in several patterns, with torches complimenting the designs as it dimly lit the cave. As for the ceiling… it was boring compared to the walls and floor. It was just lined with smooth stones.

Endocrine ate her last fruit which restored her health to full. She halted. _Oh, come on._ She glared at her hand. _I forgot to restock my food supply while I was at the End Islands. Ugh._

The spiders split their lines; crawling onto the walls. Endocrine's eye followed the ascending monsters. _How the heck am I supposed to climb that?_ There weren't any place for Endocrine to grab a grip, since it was so… smooth. Unless she punched a few holes…?

A throaty hiss interrupted the human-morpher's thoughts. "Welcome Prrrrinc-sssessssssssss."

Endocrine startled.

"Forrrgive my sssssubjects for attacking you… Alexssssss the playerrr had been unkind to ourrr kin." A large spider hanged down from the ceiling. She was old, with bits of her skin were peeling and scarred. Endocrine stepped out of the way to let her land.

"Rrrrelax, prrrinc-sssessss… I assssk you to let down yourrrr fighting ssssstance."

Endocrine pursed her lips and folded her arms. _Yeah, right. I'm not looking forward to being a meal. Thank you very much._

The old spider sneered. "I can ssssstill kill you eitherrrr way, enderrrrrman or human. Issssss that what'sssss you'rrrrre sssso worrrrrried about? I think we'll communicate the bessssst with the human facial forrrrrm. They'rrrrre… sssso exprrrressssssive, arrrren't they?"

Endocrine deadpanned, staring at the talking spider. _Fine. Whatever. I'll amuse you._

She morphed, then she raised her eyebrow, unimpressed. Her arms were still folded.

The spider took a deep, shaky breath. "We arrrrre hungrrrry… Prrrrinc-sssesssss… it isss yourrr duty to brrrring usssss dinner."

Endocrine scrunched her face, shaking her head. _Since when? Sheesh. You spider idiots are confusing._

"The prrrrrinc-ssssessssesssss prrrromisssed to feed ussssss in rrrreturrrn for prrrrotect-sssshun."

Endocrine sighed, rolling her eye. Her arms fell to her sides. _Who told you idiots I needed protection? I'm fine._

"All had failed becausssssse they werrrre foolisssssssh… and we perrrisssssh!" the spider spat, trembling.

 _Is this a joke?_

"Prrrrinc-ssesss… do you prrrrromissse to feed ourrr familiesssss?"

Endocrine tapped her chin. _How about… no._ She shook her head, turning to leave.

The human froze once the spiders dropped from the ceiling, arching their backs and hissing. Endocrine took a step back.

"Do you know what we do to prrrrrrrrrrrinc-sssesssssessss who disssssagrrree?"

Endocrine threw her head back, slowly turning back to the old spider. _Let me guess, you eat them?_

The spider smirked, her rotting fangs showing. "I think you have a clearrrrr idea, don'-sssst you?"

Endocrine's jaw clenched as her neck returned to a more natural position on her body. _Clear as a glass pane._

The spider sneered, taking slow, menacing steps towards Endocrine. "Sssssso what do you sssssay? Do you wisssssh to feed ussss… or feed yourrrsssssself to ussss!?"

The enderman's heart cart wheeled, as the old spiders and her servants closed onto her; hissing. Endocrine's eyes swept across the room. No room to teleport without being swarmed by starving spiders. Plus, who knows how far she was from the surface? She was stuck.

Endocrine threw her hands up. _Stop!_

The hissing faded away. Endocrine turned to fully face the scarred spider. The human stood tall, looking down coldly at the spider. With a single bob from Endocrine's head, the over-sized spider looked like a wolf trying to mimic a smile. She purred in satisfaction. "Wonderrrrful sss-choice, prrrrinc-sssessss."

"There she is!" a booming voice erupted. Endocrine flinched and spun with the smaller spiders, looking straight at the General enderman. General Dryan stood there, panting and his purple eyes narrowed. His cobweb-covered hand was pointed directly to her head.

The old spider hissed, stepping to the side to look at the invading endermen. "Tonight!" she screeched, "We feed!"

The cave shook, spiders darting past Endocrine. The cold wind tugged at the human morpher's hair, causing some of the webs to fly off.

"Hold your lines!" Dryan roared, shoving spiders off himself.

The old spider jumped and knocked Endocrine over. _Hey! What gives?_

The elderly spider whispred, her breath smelling like spoiled egg and rotting flesh. "Follow the cousssssins, they will be with you." Then the scarred spider jumped off Endocrine and lunged towards the nearest enderman.

Endocrine felt a stick-like object poke her head. She twisted to look at a spider and an unusually small cave version. They clattered, their eyes flickering around the room.

The human pushed herself to her feet and then ducked as a snarling spider flew over her head. The two cousins crawled away from the fight and towards a corner. Endocrine glanced back at the brawl, and then she dashed after them, eager to escape the violence. She slowed to a stop once the spider revealed a short but wide cave to crawl into. They pointed to it. "Gi-Eee."

Then the spiders scurried into it. Endocrine fell onto her knees and crawled after them.

Somehow, the darkness wasn't that dark; since the spider's dark bodies were still visible. Well, at least to Endocrine's vision. She dug the webs apart with her elbows as she shuffled. The cousins occasionally had to help her by dragging her through the sticky webs. Sometimes, a redstone torch would illuminate the webs crimson red. Or was that fresh blood on the web itself…?

An explosion erupted out of their sights. The shock caused the morpher to hit her head. Endocrine winced as her skull throbbed while the spider continued pulling her body through the cobwebs. She could hear the enders yelling and cursing in their native tongues as the arachnids hissed and squeaked.

To the human's relief, the short cave expanded into an abounded mineshaft. She stood up, pulling a fewwebs off. An empty minecart was waiting for the trio. Like the spiders knew this would happen… somehow. Maybe as an emergency escape plan? Endocrine squinted at the cart. The cave spider squeaked and tugged Endocrine's jacket, pointing to the cart. Endocrine nodded. Then she jumped into the cart.

The cave spider insisted on pushing the cart while the bigger spider scoffed and snickered. Like he didn't believe his smaller cousin could push it.

"Gewwah Lessseh!" the cave spider protested.

The cave opening exploded; pebbles and dust flying over the arguing spiders. The cave spider smirked, her cousin grumbling and scrambling into the cart. The older spider grunted in greeting to Endocrine, keeping an eye on his cousin who was attempting to push the mine cart. The cart groaned and inched forward. Another explosion; then the endermen ran into the clearing. But the vehicle had picked up speed and swooped down the hill.

General Dryan cursed under his breath and broke a block that was in his way. He dashed after them, but a cave spider tackled him and injected venom. Scowling, the general squished it and then brushed it off. He shouted, "Do not let her get away!"

Meanwhile, the cave spider clung onto her cousin desperately as the ride seemed to speed up. Endocrine gripped the edge of the cart, her mouth closed. The spider managed to get his cousin into the cart, but then endermites popped from the ceiling. The spiders squealed as they fell in. Endocrine punched one of the mites away. It squeaked and died as the mine cart bumped over it. The spiders bit and turned the remaining mites into snacks.

Endocrine's eye widen as the rails turned and the cart rolled down a steeper hill, the wheels clicking like a TNT about to go off. The end of the rollercoaster had a bump that curved the rails upwards, and then a great chasm.

The spiders screamed, popping Endocrine's ears. The morpher tightened her hold as she glared at the screeching cousins. _Shut up!_

The redstone torches seemed to blink in warning as they descended at a faster speed. The next thing they knew, the cart was a miniature rocket.

"No!" General Dryan roared as he popped onto the edge of the rails. With another rapid teleportation, he lunged for the cart, his arms stretching towards them. Endocrine looked behind her, her breath escaping. Luck was on the spider's side, as the cart moved out of Dryan's range as his hand barely brushed the iron. Gravity began to take hold of him first, pulling him farther away from the mine cart.

He yelled, clawing at the air. The general managed to teleport to safety at the last moment, breathless. He prepared to teleport to the other side of the chasm, but then spiders tackled him.

The mine cart flew through the well-placed cave opening and into the night sky. Then the cart thundered once it landed. Sparks licked the wheels as the mine cart swerved. The cart toppled, burning the side with a loud SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEECCCCCCKKK as velocity flung them across the terrian. The monsters tried to avoid the harsh scraping from the rocks, but the bigger spider managed to get one of his foot burnt.

The cart slowed, until it was near a curious zombie. Then the monsters relaxed as they collapsed against the ground.

"Whoa," the zombie breathed as the dazed monsters stared at each other.

* * *

"Filthy, disgusting spiders," General Dryan grumped, ripping a spider head off its body. "They think they're so superior, it's pathetic." He walked over the corpses of dead Enders and arachnids. The endermites were attending to the badly wounded soldiers.

He came to a stop in front of the scarred, old spider. Her pearly eyes were glassy and open. The general sneered and impaled her skull with his foot. The blood burnt his coal-coloured skin. "Shame we have a teleportation limit rule, really otherwise their pathetic attempts would be in vain."

An enderman limped to his boss as Dryan pulled his itching feet out of the goo. "Sir! We are too weak to continue chasing the convict. Rumors are flying that the future queen is appromiately six hundred-twenty-seven blocks south and five-hundred block east of Alex's spawn! Sir!" the wounded enderman saluted.

"Find Azza and send a peace troop there," General Dryan ordered. "Let her know that she is the queen we desire."

"Sir, what will we do with our wounded Enders? The liquid from the blood is making it difficult to heal."

"Send the dead home, let their brothers mourn. For the rest of the army; we'll continue the next hour."

The solider paled. "But sir-"

The general slapped his cheek. "Are you talking back to your superior?!"

"N-n-no," the enderman trembled.

"Next time you talk back to me, you will receive worse," General Dryan growled. "Send me a nurse and a clean towel! You are dismissed."

Once the general was alone once again, he mused. "It's a shame Endocrine was a fool… She'd make an interesting dragon." His purple eyes closed. "I'm sorry for failing you, Queen Drelizabeth. I will kill her next time. I will even if it takes Minecraft to kneel over and flare!"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Holy cow, I was so tempted to replace "entertainment" with "** _ **endertainment**_ **" XDD**

 _Why did the enderman cross the road?_

 _To reach to the other_ _ **End**_

 **Is anyone having a fun time with pronouncing "Prrrrrinc-sssessssesss?" She really knows her r's and s's haha XD (I say it like purrrin-sss-es-essss)**

 **~Rosie**


	5. Creeping around Creepers

Endocrine watched the zombie mask burn and wrinkle in the morning sun. The sand was slowly starting to glow brighter as the sun hiked its way up into the sky. Next to her, the spiders were taking a short nap. Endocrine had found a shelter in the side of the sandy mountain and immediately hid in it before any Enders could spot them. The arachnids had shoved Z against the wall, but the undead was snoring quietly and contently.

 _It's a good thing all ugly creatures burn_. Endocrine mused to herself. She began to rub her face in attempt to smother the cold presence of her magic away. If they find her here and right now, she'd never reach to the Nether Portal and the End Army would kill her. That is definitely not how she wanted to die.

For a while, Endocrine wasn't feeling a dramatic change in body temperature by the friction on her face. So she rolled onto her stomach and then began pushing herself up and down. The cave spider scurried onto her back, cooing. Endocrine looked over her shoulder and glowered.

"Kai." The small spider greeted, its red eyes blinking sleepily.

 _Oh whatever._ Endocrine shook her head and then returned to her work out, the light spider rising and falling with her. Up. Down. Huff. Push. Bend arms. Strain. Repeat.

Pretty soon, the little cave spider fell back to sleep on her back.

After about thirty-five pushups, Endocrine was starting to feel uncomfortable with the heat radiating to her face. She plopped her face against the floor, barely keeping her mouth out of the sand.

The Enders couldn't exactly sweat, because otherwise it would kill them as it gnawed away at their skin. The magic that followed them kept them cool and transferred the oxygen and other minerals from the sky into a sufficient amount of hydration. However, the magic also allowed other Enders to sense if they're in the presence of another End creature. The Overworld and Nether monsters were full of warmth and their blood circulated a beautiful red, but the Enders were dark and dry in order to adapt to the extinct sun of their home world.

Endocrine waited. She couldn't hear anything except for an occasional startled rabbit's steps. _It's time to go._ Endocrine brushed the spider off her back as she carefully stood up. The spiders yawned as they followed her out of the cave. But then Endocrine paused. She turned to look at the zombie who was in deep sleep. She rolled her eyes. _Idiot. He's going to burn into the sun._

The morpher dug into her inventory, searching for anything that could keep her unconscious guide alive. Lots of dirt, stone blocks, wilting flowers, and other random useless blocks filled her inventory. Endocrine sighed, and began tossing things out of her reserve. She halted onto a lone, hollowed pumpkin-head. _Victory!_

Endocrine pulled it out, and then smashed it against Z's head. The pumpkin plopped onto him, the gaping holes automatically turning to fit his face. Endocrine shoved him back onto the bigger spider's body. Yup, the zombie was literally sleeping like the dead. _At least endermen were bred to go for a long time without sleep,_ her brain snorted.

The human stepped back into the light, squinting. Cactus dotted along the landscape as tanned rabbits scurried around and dug for food. Endocrine teleported near to the top of the hill they were hiding in. She crouched as she peeked over the piles of sand. The desert village from the previous night were empty and quiet, their small farms messy as vegetables were scattered all over the dirt.

Endocrine frowned. _Where did the End Army go?_

 _Maybe they're exhausted and returned home to resupply?_ Another part of Endocrine's brain suggested. She ignored the comment, studying the landscape. If they were previously walking towards the east before turning to visit the large village. Then, logically, they would have to keep walking towards the sun. At least until the zombie woke up.

Endocrine teleported back to the spiders. She smoothened her jacket before she began to hike across the terrain. A few rabbits fled as she and the spiders sneaked up to them, their frantic footsteps sending the sands flying. The cave spider watched them bounce away as she kept near the human.

When it was almost noon time, the cave spider decided to bump her head against Endocrine's legs. The human startled, but relaxed as she saw who it was.

 _Hmm. I wonder what your names are._ Endocrine stopped walking as she studied the two sleepy spiders. The larger, grey spider cursed as Z shifted slightly, the zombie's arm digging into the anacrhid's back. His cousin's eyes widen in shock and scurried away from him.

 _Do spiders even have names?_ Endocrine began to walk once again. She looked into the clear sky. A magic spark interrupted the still blue.

Endocrine heard Z rolled once again, falling off the spider. The spider darted away from the zombie, hissing. The sand had muffled Z's groan as he started to move around some more.

"Whu-" he grunted, rubbing his face- or rather, the pumpkin's surface. "Why am _je_ wearing _un_ pumpkin head? Where am _je_ _?_ "

Endocrine sighed. Then she turned and helped the zombie onto his feet.

"Ah, _bonjour,_ Princess. I thought _tu_ 'd ditch _moi_ back there. _Merci_."

The transformer glared at him. _Don't make me regret saving your flesh._

" _Tu_ know, pest," he directed to this ride. " _Tu_ aren't very comfortable to sleep on."

"Hmmft," the spider growled, turning away from him.

"I've just remembered!" Z exclaimed. "I need to go to a picnic tomorrow. I can bring _tu_ along, as my guest. It's over by _le_ swamp. _Moi_ friends aren't big on Endermen, but I think they'd get along just grand with _tu_ , Princess." Z reached for Endocrine's hand, but the cave spider hissed, her teeth gleaming. Endocrine teleported a few blocks away, eyeing him.

 _Stop trying to touch me, idiot._ Endocrine folded her arms.

"Oh, gee, fine, _tu_ stupid, overprotective pest." Z turned to the morpher. "So what'cha say, Princess?"

 _And stop calling me Princess._ Endocrine shrugged instead of chucking a piece of tempting cacti at him. The large spider seemed to laugh at Z's disappointed expression as the cousins followed a stalking blonde human.

"Uh, picnic is that way." He pointed a bit to his right.

Endocrine spun on the disheveled sand, returning to Z. _Let's get this lousy picnic over with so I can get to the portal._

Zoan led the group through the last parts of the desert before they came upon a dry and grassy biome. The cave spider darted ahead of him, finally giving chase to the taunting rabbits. Tall and crooked trees decorated the savanna, their thin piles of branches stretching. The dark blue spider returned shortly, proudly holding a twitching rabbit in her mouth.

Z stumbled over a rock as he noticed the rabbit was still alive, which caused the arachnids to snicker. Z glared at them, returning back to a steady walking pace. Once the cave spider ate the rabbit, the arachnids began to bet on whether or not something unfortunate would happen to him.

Which did.

The cave spider squealed and her cousin sniggered as Z fell into a hole. _Seriously?_ Endocrine face palmed as she watched Z attempt to jump out. She sighed, walking over to the hole to pull the stuck zombie out.

"Where did that come from?!" Z sputtered, "Nobody plants a two by one hole!"

The cave spider snickered, her hisses irritating the zombie. Z glowered at the spiders. "Pests, I swear…"

* * *

After a time period of silence, Z began to complain about the spiders. Endocrine ignoring the zombie, wishing time-to-time to strangle his vocal box. But they eventually arrived into a roofed forest. Mushrooms tree were standing proudly here and there, their bright colours standing against the darkness of the forest. Z took off his hat, but carefully avoided the random spots of afternoon sunlight in the forest. The spiders climbed the trees as they moved in deeper, their eyes surveying for potential threats.

"Oooh, _Je_ know where we're at! _Je_ know a shortcut to _le_ picnic!" Z brightened.

Endocrine turned and gave him a hard look. _Sure, you want to go so badly so you can eat more brains and become a bigger idiot?_ She gestured an eating symbolism towards Z.

It took him a few moments for him to figure out what Endocrine was trying to communicate. Z threw up his hands. "They don't serve villagers at picnics, Princess."

 _Yeah, right._ Endocrine stepped over a twig. The forest floor was growing more clustered as twigs and exposed roots decorated the ground. Z wasn't having an easy time with them as he stumbled over the roots and loudly broke the sticks. The noises drove Endocrine's nerves crazy. She couldn't make up her mind on killing him right there or not for being so noisy.

As Endocrine argued with herself, the spiders detected a rustle among the shadow. They screeched in warning, flying to Endocrine. The morpher stiffened, and then transformed into her Enderman form.

"Chill," Zoan scoffed. "It's probably some chicken."

The spiders spat at the undead.

Endocrine took a step forward, narrowing her eyes as she pinpointed the rustling of leaves. Listened for the sounds of teleportation…

Shrieking erupted from her right, with thuds following in its wake. Endocrine flinched and threw her fists up into the air. A creeper rolled into the clearing. The enderman lowered her fists slightly. The creeper wore a long, grey scarf that covered its mouth, the eyes spinning as it moaned.

The enderman and zombie glanced towards each other. "I stand corrected," the zombie peeped.

"Uhh," the creeper sighed as it attempted to look at them. "I'm stuck. A little helping hand here?"

"I would," Z frowned. "But I rather not have an explosion kill _moi._ "

The explosive monster laughed. "Why would I waste my life on you?"

The zombie stood unmoving next to the enderman. The spiders had settled themselves in front of the duos, snarling.

"Ugh, looks like I have no choice." The creeper scoffed. The team jumped as a long _bang_ echoed through the forest. In the place of a creeper was a human with grey pixie hair and a darker grey scarf covering her mouth. Endocrine noticed that she was missing a left arm as she rolled onto her stomach and then pushed herself up.

The creeper morphed back with another miniature explosion. As the creeper looked towards them, Endocrine noticed that she was missing a foreleg, too.

"I, uh, I'll be on my way." The creeper coughed as she limped around them.

"Hey!" Z shouted, dashing to her. He grabbed her scarf. "Have we met before? _Tu_ look awfully familiar."

Endocrine wished she could groan as she rolled her eyes to the ceiling of the forest. She folded her arms, tapping her foot as she stared at the tiny details of the leaves.

The creeper squinted at Z. "Huh. You're that zombie from the last picnic, right? Was it Z?"

" _Oui!_ I forgot your name, sorry."

The creeper's head bowed. "I'm G.P. Creen. Who's that?" she nodded her head towards Endocrine.

Z let go of her scarf and then dramatically sweeped his arm. "That, is Princess. An Ender Princess."

G.P. scrunched her face. "Why would someone name a princess 'Princess?'"

"Wellll," Z rubbed his jaw. "I don't know her name. She hadn't even talked to _moi_. Actually, I don't think she's capable of making noises at this rate…"

"Oh." G.P. took another look. "What about the spiders over there?"

"Pest number One and Pest Number Two." Z sighed. "Anyways, don't go near the spiders. So, G.P. do you want to join _moi_ on our epic?"

 _Our?_

"Epic what?" the creeper crooked her head.

"It means a very long journey with heroic deeds, G.P."

The creeper peeked at the enderman. Then the spiders. "Uhh, would they be ok with it?"

Z turned, meeting Endocrine's bored eye. " _Tu_ 'll be fine, won't _tu_ , Princess?"

Endocrine huffed. _Whatever. Just don't invite every monster we come across. You're already annoying enough._

"Alright... I'll tag along." G.P. nodded hesitantly. After she took a deep breath, she smiled under her scarf. "So, where are you going?"

"Princess wants _moi_ to take her to _le_ Nether portal, but first I need to attend _le_ picnic that's being held in the swamp tomorrow. Come, Princess, _tu_ 'll get lost." Z beckoned Endocrine as he turned to leave.

Endocrine glared in the other direction, huffing. Then she realized his words had some truth. She teleported after them sheepishly, the spiders crawling after her.

They began to trek up a hill that the creeper rolled over.

"Cool. I was also going to go there, but then I got separated from my friends." The creeper panted as they jumped over blocks. Endocrine simply teleported bits by bits up the hill, watching in amusement as the rest of her team struggled.

Once the ground had leveled out, the green monsters continued swatting their small talk as the landscape slowly changed around them. The forest was growing even more darker as the sun neared its daily journey. Endocrine's mind wandered, holding no interest into the conversation that was taking place.

 _So much had changed lately. The queen's dead, Dryan's one of the general. I can't stop and take a well-deserved nap. At least everyone still acts the same._ Endocrine stepped over a large root. _I don't think I'll be able to handle it if the End suddenly started worshipping me._

 _What's wrong with that?_ Endocrine's brain whispered back. _You won't be hungry. You wouldn't be with an obnoxious zombie. Everyone will adore you. You'll be able to take sleep well again. You'll be a queen._

 _Shut_ _up_ , Endocrine snarled. Her brain obeyed.

The cave spider attempted to rub its head against Endocrine's tall legs, but she kept moving away. So it quickly became a fun game for the small creature while her cousin watched, glowering. Why he was upset... the enderman had no idea.

"Hey, look! The plains!" G.P. wheezed, breaking the almost-quiet peace.

" _Oui_." Z tugged his pumpkin mask back on.

The creeper laughed. "That orange doesn't look good on you."

The zombie shrugged, pushing a branch aside. "What can I do without dying?"

The sun was almost touching the horizon, the grass teasing as it waved flirtatiously. Endocrine paused, the cave spider bumping into Endocrine. _Almost nighttime already?_

There were group of creepers in the distance, their hollering lost to the wind. The enderman watched them turn their heads towards the group. Then they began to march towards her.

"Hey!" the ring leader barked, "Let my friend go!"

"Huh?" G.P. swerved towards the other creepers. "Oh, hey guys!"

Z backed away, laughing nervously. "Your friends look furious."

"Y-y-yeah," G.P. Creen stammered, alarmed.

"Get out of the way, G.P.!" The ring leader ordered, his team breaking into a mad-paced charge.

Endocrine and the other monsters took off running, with Z leading the group and screaming hysterically. _Why are you always in the lead, idiot?_ Endocrine's eyelid twitched.

"What are you doing, G.P.?" the smallest creeper barked.

"Becoming more independent!" she hollered back as she fell further behind, "I've heard it's fun!"

"Lava ahead!" Z screeched.

Endocrine and Z skidded to a stop, the spiders nearly knocking the enderman into the lava river. "Gah! I'm too young to die!" the zombie blubbered.

Endocrine rolled her eye. _Really, you're crying over that? Enderman up, idiot._

Z yelped as a soft explosion nearly blew him off his feet. G.P. emerged from the dust- humanized- with her legs and arm extended.

"What are you doing?!" The offending leader whined, halting before they could run her over.

"I want to go on an epic," Creen growled.

"An epic what?" the leader squinted.

"A very long journey... I think." She took a step forward.

"Oh please," the creeper on the left, who was not the shortest, scoffed, "You'll die out there."

"So will you _if_ you come any closer." The creeper-transformer threatened as the larger spider began to poke Z.

Endocrine glanced towards the lava river, judging the distance. _Nope. I don't have the strength to teleport everyone that far._

"G.P., we've been lying to you," the lead creeper sighed, "Creepers normally don't die permanently unless killed by another monster or nearby Alex, of course."

"But those who can transform will always die. Remember my uncle?" the creeper on the left pleaded. "One day, he went boom on accident, and we never saw him again."

Z howled as the spider kicked him, distracting the fight. Endocrine huffed. _Pathetic._

"You want to run away with _them?"_ the shortest creeper laughed, "The blokes probably won't protect you!"

The offending creepers broke into snickers, their heads shaking and bowed.

"Please, a zombie husk would do a lot better, considering they can't even kill Alex." the small creeper continued as he sneered.

"Now," the leader took a step closer. "Get out of the way unless you want to die with the weirdos."

Endocrine studied the river again. _Too_ _far._ She folded her long arms, glaring at the goofing spiders. _Are they plain stupid or foolishly confident?_ The cave spider paused as she sensed Endocrine's glare, and then squeaked. She crawled to Endocrine, pouring out apologies.

G.P. suddenly dashed to the creepers, throwing the only arm she had around the stiffening leader's back. Creen's pixie hair ruffled as she buried her head under his neck.

"Oh gee, squirt..." the leader blushed, looking away.

"I guess this is goodbye..." G.P. cooed, blinking at him with large eyes. The leader muttered curses, growing more embarrassed by the second.

"Guess we're not a family anymore," the right, small creeper bitterly sighed.

"Explurt! Do something!" the leader snapped to his left.

"Do what? I don't have arms!" Explurt protested.

Endocrine sighed, her foot pattering. Z had curled up into a fetal position, his body hacking with sobs while the big grey spider gleefully jabbed his guts.

"Bye Coal." Creen relased him, trudging back towards the lava river. About halfway to her new team, she transformed back into her three-legged form.

The three creepers hustled together, whispering and hissing. Endocrine watched G.P. stare at her former teammates.

The leader, Coal, sighed once a decision had been made. Coal prepared to leave while the other two left, looking over their shoulders at G.P. "Godspeed and sayonnas, G.P. You know where home is." Coal sighed. "I think you would be safer off than where we're heading... You can thank Explurt."

G.P. gasped, her eyes smiling and watering. Endocrine blinked, secretly relieved. _Clever creeper._

"I'll miss you!" G.P. screamed after the leaving creepers, her voice cracking. "Stay safe!"

"I'm a coward," Z shuddered, pushing the poking spider away. The spider harrumphed in agreement, eying the handicapped creeper warily. The enderman shook her head; pondering on whether or not to chuck the zombie into the lava.

The creeper breathed in the cooling air. "Let's go!" She did her best to march away without falling over her own feet.

"How are _tu_ so positive?" the zombie sniffed, crawling onto his knees. "How does she do that?"

Endocrine shrugged, following the creeper. The spider shoved the undead before he and his cousin sprinted after their new leader. Z moaned, his pumpkin mask slamming into the dirt.

* * *

The End Islands were awfully clustered with healing endermen. Shulkers and other Enders were walking among them, switching the cloth with drying blood for a new one. The blood of the overworld monster was slowly killing them as the bits of liquid ate away at their skin.

In an End fortress, Dryan slouched over a table, his eyes studying the map of the Overworld. He traced the map as he muttered to himself in his native tongue. Azza teleported into the room, and then transformed into a human out of respect.

"You called?" Azza bowed.

General Dryan sighed as he took his eyes off the map. "Why are you not out negotiating with Princess Elanie?"

The morpher shifted his feet. "Well, uh, she's kinda slippery like a shulker's bullet. Anyways, I really need to talk to you."

"I don't have time to talk," Dryan snapped, "In about an hour it'll be night again, and I want everyone out there searching for the princesses!"

"How funny," Azza droned, "That's exactly not what I wanted to talk to you about. There's been rumor flying about that you've gone delusional."

"Delusional?" The general laughed, rising from his chair. "That's the most bizarre thing I've ever heard all day. Why aren't you putting it stop if it concerns you?"

"Because you are!" Azza spat. "You're already pushing your brothers to their limits! They're exhausted, they're hurt, and they've wiped out two huge groups of monsters in one day! One, overworld day!"

"I'm delusional because I'm pushing my troops to their fullest?" Dryan folded his hands behind his back.

Azza growled. "You're delusional because you're being ridiculously stubborn! Let Endocrine go and we can focus on getting Princess Elanie safe from Endocrine or other unfortunate events!"

"So, it's delusional if everything I'm doing right now, is to the orders of- Long live Queen Elizabeth! Is it horrible that I'm trying to protect our brothers from Endocrine?"

Azza pressed his lips together, his head high in confirmation.

"Why do you think she returned, Azza?" Derek slammed his fists against the table. "She definitely didn't plan to visit the queen's grave. They never had a good relationship together. The brat's hungry. She's-"

"General Dryan!" Azza barked, "You need to give your troops some more time before chasing off a promise that doesn't even hold anymore!"

"The castle is about to _fall,_ Azza!" Dryan yelled, "and neither princess seems to be ready to die! We must take action NOW! Before Endocrine-"

"Shut up about Endocrine!" Azza exploded. "You're tired! Delusional! Crazy! You're killing us all off! The blood from the hunt is still hurting our people, Dryan!"

"And they will continue to _hurt_ until Princess Elanie returns safe and Endocrine's dead! We'll continue to clone either way until we have a dragon again!" Dryan roared. "I'll say this again: she's hungry, and if we don't stop-"

"You stop!" Azza fumed. "She's not going to do anything for the next few hours! Just STOP!"

The endermen were gathering silently in curiosity. They could sense a fight forming into the air. And when a fight forms, entertainment always follow...

"We have to go now!" Dryan clenched his teeth. "We're wasting time! It'll only be a few days before-"

"Sir! Sir!" A small enderman ran into the room. "The castle! Sir! It's falling!"

Dryan's eyes widened as he fell into his chair. "But-but I thought we had a few more days before that would happen!"

"GET OUT!" Azza roared, running his hand through his black hair as he seethed.

"We have to go, now! We're wasting time!" Dryan shook.

Azza gritted his teeth. "No. We're not going anywhere until we're better."

"Endocrine's-"

"We will not go anywhere until most of them had healed!" Azza growled, pointing outside of the window.

"Stop interrupting me!" Dryan screamed.

Azza transformed, leveling his eyes to his. "You need to stop."

"I can't, I can't, I can't!" Dryan hands flew to his temples. "Endocrine will-"

"Shut up!" Azza roared, advancing towards Dryan.

"I can't- Queen Drelizabeth- Endocrine's going to put us all in danger!" Dryan stammered, stumbling away from the table. "The promise I made still holds... the queen still roams in spirit-"

"YOU'RE PUTTING US ALL IN DANGER!" Azza shook, punching Dryan.

"YOU SHUT UP!" Dryan threw a chair at Azza. Azza recoiled as the chair slammed against him.

Dryan gasped for breath, finally aware of the watchful eyes. "Endo-Endocrine... I can't... I can't!" His legs failed him as he fell, hyperventaling. "We're doomed..."

Azza wiped the blood off his cheek. "You have to calm down, now! Calm down!"

"We're all going to die! Endocrine's-"

"I said," Azza stopped in front of him, "Calm _down!"_ He rammed his fist against Dryan's skull. Dryan slumped over into sleep. The tension in the air became sharper as Azza panted, glaring at his sleeping friend and brother. Azza sighed, walking away. "I'm sorry. But I can't afford to have you cry over what you can't control..."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** **I know there's no such thing as a (surface?) lava river in Minecraft, but let's blame Alex for building a useless and wide lava river.**

 _ **Endertainment:**_

 _Why are creepers the official mascot for Minecraft?_

 _Because they have an **explosive**_ _personality!_

 **~Rosie**


	6. A Slimy Picnic

After five minutes of marching in the fading light of the sun, G.P. Creen tripped over her own limbs. The spiders snickered as the creeper struggled back to her feet, but their laughter died down once a certain undead glared at them. Z stopped in front of the creeper, grabbed the scruff of her scarf, and then hauled her back to her feet.

"Thanks." G.P.'s head lowered into her scarf. Z shrugged, glancing back at Endocrine.

The enderman had busied herself as she studied her surroundings. She walked over to a cave, and then she knelt as she tasted the air and examined the dirt. _Too damp._ Endocrine backed away, peering over the grass for another sign of shelter.

"What do you think she's doing?" G.P. crooked her head.

Z shrugged once again. "Who knows?"

G.P. and Z followed Endocrine as she continued to search for more caves.

"Ugh, _moi_ sleep schedule's all messed up," the zombie grumbled.

"Mine's always messed up!" Creen joked, nudging the undead's shoulder with her head.

Zoan stumbled in surprise, but he managed to regain his balance. "I have to give _tu_ a warning, but Princess's been awake and traveling ever since she flew from a mineshaft."

The creeper gasped, "Is she one of the goddesses?"

Endocrine stopped. She slowly turned her head to glower at the creeper.

"Apparently not," G.P. squeaked, ducking away from the enderman's one-eyed glare.

Endocrine faced forward, and then teleported into a cave entrance. She surveyed the texture of dry and eroded stone wall. She couldn't find a warning sign that there was a nearby water source. On the bonus side, the lack of wind from the cave indicated there was a one-way entrance to the cave. _Good for barricading._

Endocrine waved for the green monsters' attention. The spiders were already by her side, panting from the mad dash.

After the monsters examined their temporarily shelter, Z began to mine for coals while Endocrine went out to stock her inventories with wood. The creeper and the spiders took their respective corners in the medium-large cave room.

When Endocrine and Zoan filled a pile into a respectable amount of fuel, Endocrine offered Z her worn iron and flint tool. It was pretty old because she had stolen it from a careless villager who had set it aside, and she's been using it ever since.

"Erm… I don't really do well with fire..." Z smiled awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. Glaring, the enderman changed into her human form, the old materials fitting better into her hands. She kneeled; then she began bashing the materials together.

Z moved to sit down next to the scarfed creeper. "Had you heard of a rumor that said that Alex can go for _years_ without sleep," he whispered.

G.P. eye's narrowed. "I've always wondered how can she do that? That's unnatural."

"I don't know. Maybe it's _le_ soul of _les_ monsters that keeps her thrilled night after night?" Z rubbed the dirt off his hand.

The creeper swallowed. "I hope I'll never encounter her."

"Ditto. If I ever do, I'll run far away as I can!" Z declared.

Endocrine scoffed as she scraped the iron against the flint. _Cowards. Beside, how can a zombie refuse a player's brain?_

The creeper snuggled into her scarf. "But… the creepers who've seen her whispered that she has the speed of rabbits by drinking sugar. And then no matter how many times you bring her health down, she will drink the tears of the ghasts and never die."

The male spider snorted, settling down next to the wall. His cousin was already sleeping on the cave floor.

"And… sometimes, _she'd disappear!"_ G.P. took a deep breath. "I've seen creepers mourning for their lost ones, too… I mean, I just learned that I'll die permanently anyways, but apparently other creepers… don't."

Endocrine finally managed to ignite the wood. She jumped back while G.P. scrambled farther away from the heat source.

"F-f-f-fire," the creeper stuttered. The spider spat insults and moved away as she neared.

"Chill, the flames can't reach _tu_ from here. Why don't the pests like _tu_?" Z folded his arms behind his head.

G.P. clung against the wall. "I-I don't think spiders en-enjoy the taste of gu-gunpowder."

"Oh." Z raised an eyebrow.

Endocrine rolled her eye, stocking another log into the hungry fire. Satisfied and slightly nerved by the growing fire, she went to barricade the cave entrance with dirt blocks that she had collected over the past year.

The creeper slowly pulled her head away from the wall. "Hey Z?"

" _Oui?"_

"I don't know how to put this…" The creeper bit her scarf.

Endocrine left a hole in the wall so the smoke won't slowly suffocate the monsters. She began to thicken the wall for extra security measures.

Z raised an eyebrow. "I don't bite."

"How do zombies… erm… reproduce?"

Z choked. Endocrine halted, glancing at the green monsters.

Z sat up fully once he finished coughing. "Well, uh, when a pair of zombies share a brain, they fall in love, yada yada, baby zombie, baby eats momma, baby grows up. Or _tu_ can just transform a villager with a bite. Yeah."

 _Share a brain to fall in love?_ Endocrine's eyebrows furrowed. The zombie had offered her a brain the night before. _Oh. No. He. Didn't._

Endocrine used her magic to take onto her enderman form. She stalked towards the undead, her fists tensing and shaking. Z looked up at her in confusion, but then yelped and ducked as she created a dent right over his head.

 _You BASTARD!_

Z scrambled away as the enderman charged up another punch. "What?!" he squawked. "Did I look into your eye or something?!"

Endocrine kicked him across the room. He collided with the wall. The enderman teleported. Her hand plummeted, causing Z's jaw to pop. He feebly punched one of her leg. Endocrine sneered and pressed his hand down with her foot. Hard.

He cried out. With his other hand, he pulled a pick from his inventory. He swung it. Endocrine teleported before the blade could dig into her skin.

The hissing grey spider advanced towards him. Z glanced towards the fire. With a grunt, he darted straight for the flames. He swooped a flaming stick up. The undead pointed it straight for the spider. The arachnid hissed, shrinking away.

"Back pest, back!" Z panted.

Z had successfully driven the spider away, but where was-

Endocrine grabbed the scruff of his shirt, her other hand snatching the flaming torch away from Z. Endocrine tossed the stick back to the hungry flames. She lifted the undead, his feet kicking wildy. But she was too tall for him to do any damage.

 _Hadn't anyone told you, idiot, to never mess with an Ender?_ Her brain snarled as she watched him struggled. Slowly, she turned to hold him over the fire. _I should've killed you the moment you started to spew idiotic words._

" _Non, non, non,_ please." He gasped, clinging onto Endocrine's arm. "I don't understand-ack!"

Zombies never do well with fire. Like a playing predator, Endocrine began to relax her grip on his shirt. Her eye held firm onto his, declaring who had the most power in the room as he loomed near death.

"Stop!" G.P. finally blurted out, tears in her eyes. The creeper refused to look at the fire as she shuddered. "Can't you tell whatever you're upset about, he's sorry?"

The fire crackled, stretching for Z's shoes.

"A-and you won't be able to get to the nether without him," G.P. added.

 _The Nether Portal. Flying stupid squid shit._

Endocrine broke eye contact, tossing Z aside like he was a punished kitten. Z didn't dare to move, his breath ragged as he pulled his legs to his stomach. The fire, disappointed, began to die down as the logs turned into charcoal.

Endocrine stared at the fire, her nerves calming. She pulled another log from her inventory and then fed it to the fire. Her brain purred, _You may not had killed him, but you had taught him a lesson like a true Ender Queen would. He learned to fear you. Aren't you proud?_

Endocrine's jaws clenched; she turned away from the burning pile. _Leave me alone._

Once again, the other voice inside her head obeyed.

Endocrine sat far away from her companions, her head resting on the stone wall. She watched the light source, suddenly tired.

Z stirred, moving away from the uncomfortable heat. The older spider kept an eye on him as he shuffled across the room. One he was back into his previous spot, G.P. ran to his side. Well, more like hobbled, but hobbling doesn't sound as swift as running.

Z had his eyes on Endocrine. " _Tu_ know, you're kinda powerful. Nearly killed _moi_ there. And I couldn't even land a blow on _tu_."

"Are you going to be okay?" G.P. nudged him with her only foreleg.

Z shifted his attention to the creeper. "Oh. _Oui._ I just need to eat some potatoes. They're not my favorite but they'll do…" With that, he took a bite out of an uncooked potato.

Once Z had finished restoring is health to full and his wounds magically healed, he stole another glance at the enderman. And then he waved for the sleepy creeper's attention. "So, uh, how do you creepers make _les famillies_ or groups?"

"I don't know." G.P. crooked her head. "We've been alive for so long, we don't really question it."

Z hummed. "I've heard creepers were pigs who've naturally gone hostile."

"That's pigmen," the creeper's face scrunched.

"No, they were struck by lightning," Zoan huffed. "Although, they're pretty close to us zombies genetically some how…"

"Like, I said, we don't really question it." G.P. walked to the darkest corner of the cave, and then settled onto the ground with her back against them.

"Don't let _le_ bed-spiders bite," Z sang.

The spider hissed, spit flying everywhere.

"Ugh, you pests are disgusting." Z wrinkled his burnt nose. "He-hey, Princess, I'll stand guard tonight, _tu_ get your beauty sleep?" and then he added under his breath, "So _tu_ won't kill me in sleep."

 _Like you'll stay awake._ Endocrine got up and handed him a stack of logs anyways. She pointed to the fire.

"Right. Keep it going. Sure." He mumbled, looking anywhere but her.

Endocrine returned to the wall and then welcome sleep. But she couldn't. The fact that the End army was searching for her able to teleport into any moment if they noticed the thin line of smoke. But then maybe they'll dismiss it for a lava pool. These thoughts kept her tossing and turning. It's been a long time since she had any real sleep...

* * *

The next morning, Z was staring at the fire, bags slowly growing under his eyes. Endocrine pushed herself up. She could tell it was morning because the light were going through the small hole. _Huh. You stayed awake._

Endocrine stomped on the fire until it died, woke the sleeping monsters up while Z power-napped, and then they were on their way again.

The plain's breeze was nice against their faces, except for Z since he wore a pumpkin mask. It felt refreshing after an entire night of being clogged up with smoke and lack of cooling change. The wind tugged at their clothing and pulled the clouds along the vibrant sky.

"What a beautiful day!" G.P. smiled, pushing her face towards the sky.

"Stupid sun," Z grumbled, slouching.

Endocrine eyed them. _So contrasting._

Z stiffened, looking away from the enderman.

"Why would you say the sun's stupid? It lets the vegetables grow and the monsters to rest." G.P. countered.

"It's a murderous, useless star." Z snorted.

 _I won't say it's useless. Stop your complaining, it's not going to change anything._ Endocrine clapped for Z's attention, and then made a zipping motion over her mouth. He grimaced.

Endocrine enjoyed the silence for a few minutes until the extroverts couldn't take it anymore and immediately launched onto an another conversation. And then a few minutes later, much to Endocrine's disbelief, the creeper began to sing off-tuned. The zombie exclaimed with recognition and joined in.

 _I hate you all._ There was no stopping the singing monsters, and if she clapped for their attention, they'd start singing to her clapping beat. So infuriating.

* * *

As minutes turned into hours, with lapses of silence and chatter, they had finally reached their destination. The swamp.

G.P. hobbled to the lake, and then jumped in with a woop. However, due to the natural hollow spaces in their body so creepers won't drown, she bounced back to the surface like a buoy. "Hey, it feels nice!"

Z was about to run in after G.P., but the spiders shoved him aside and then cannon-balled in, shrieking in shock from the cold water. Z grumbled under his breath before stepping in and taking his pumpkin mask off.

 _Water is overrated._ Endocrine folded her arms and refused to move any closer.

"Gah! I hate this pumpkin mask! It smells!" Z took off his mask with disgust.

 _I'd say the same about your kind, idiot._

"It does?" G.P. looked up.

A skeleton was leaning against a tree, watching them silently, xir bone protected from the dangerous sun. The skeleton sneered. "Hey Z! Taking a bath with spiders?"

"Pfft, _non._ " Zoan replied as he swam to the light-grey monster. The spiders flailed around, unsure of where to go.

"Hey, who's that? Ya know andermen are never invited to da picnics." The skeleton gestured to the enderman.

"That's Princess." Z climbed onto the little island, shaking some of the water off once he was save from the glaring sun.

"Hey!" Creen neared, gliding over the swamp water. "Have you seen Coal and his gang? I'm positive that they were ahead of us."

"G.P. Creen are ya?" the skeleton adjusted his bow. "I wonder what disc ya'd drop, hmm?"

"Boun," Z warned, his eyes narrowing.

"I was just pulling her _leg,_ " the skeleton scoffed. "Why is 'Princess' here? Isn't that's an odd name to give to an anderman? Unless-"

"She's one of _la_ Princess, _oui_ ," Z interrupted. "I was trying to guide her to _le_ Nether but we're kinda side-tracking here."

"Ander Princess, eh? Lemme give ya some advice, Z." Boun leaned onto the tree. "Recently, a group of party had been massacred by the And Army two nights ago. No survivors. Nada."

"So what?" Z frowned. G.P. joined the group, silently standing next to the zombie.

"I thought you're one of the smart monsters out there? Anyways, I bet da And Army's searching for your 'Princess.' Do ya know her real name? 'Cause, ya know, rumor's flying around that there's two princesses left."

"I'm afraid we don't know her true name," G.P. shook her head.

"Huh," The skeleton snorted. "Well, either way, ya'd better stick with her. Some of us had been stopped by andermen. Something's about wanting to find both princesses. If they find out that you've been with Princess, well... if ya stay with her or not, ya'll be killed either way. So in that case, ya'd better stick around with her."

Z guffawed. "Killed either way... Like that makes _moi_ feel better... Maybe I better start carrying a bucket of water around..."

"Told ya that you're smart." Boun tapped Z's forehead. And then he shouted to Endocrine, "Hey, Princess! It's gonna rain soon!"

Endocrine stiffened even more. The clouds were beginning to gather as the wind picked up, slowly turning the sky into a murky blue. By now, the spider had decided to stand with Endocrine, shivering from the cold.

"So, do you know what happened to Coal?" G.P. repeated her question.

"Oh yah. I was waiting for ya guys because Coal wanted me to tell ya that he's not going to attend." Boun stepped into the water. "Something about becoming a haro and killing Alex once and for all."

The creeper lowered her head. She whispered, "That's why they let me go..." Creen closed her eyes.

Meanwhile, Endocrine found a rouge, medium slime wandering through the swamp. She plucked a stick from a tree, and then stabbed the slime with it. The slime gurgled as the enderman flattened it with her feet. Then Endocrine stepped off it, picked up the stick, and then proudly displayed the blinking slime-ella to the spiders. The cave spider jumped in approval, but her cousin grunted and looked away.

The enderman transformed so her boots could provide some protection against the rain. Endocrine glanced up at the greying sky. She turned her attention to her surrounding. She had no idea where she was. Endocrine avoided swamps as much as she could, since there were too many potential traps lying around.

 _Ugh._ Endocrine ran her hand through her wild hair. Her cheeks puffed. _I still have to get to the stupid Nether Portal. Maybe the idiots won't stay for long. I'd better follow them, I guess..._

Z, Boun, and G.P. were back in the water, swimming in silence except for the lapse of the water. Z glanced over his shoulder. "Huh. That's pretty creative."

Boun did a double take as he looked back. "She's a transformer?"

"Oh, yeah." the creeper confirmed.

The skeleton harrumpted. "Did ya know Anderman typically run out of food by the time they reach the Nether Portal? Especially And Princesses."

Z rolled his eyes. But then he accidentally swallowed the swamp water.

"No, I didn't." G.P. blinked while the zombie spluttered.

"Now ya know! And since she's a transformer, then she'll have a chance to survive." Boun continued.

"What do you mean, a 'chance'?" the creeper pressed.

"I think he's trying to hint that Princess doesn't have any food," Z explained. "Because princesses are basically outcasts. They're from the _le_ End, so logically their primarily food source is _les_ Chorus Fruits."

"But Princess's a morpher; half human. And we know that Alex can eat almost anything." the skeleton added.

"Bloody Alex," G.P. grumbled. "Her name terrorizing monsters with every breath."

Boun looked at the creeper, amused. "But no one knows what else andermen morphers eat, either. I bet they eat magic."

"I hope they don't eat zombies," Z muttered.

The party had finally arrived to a large gathering. Creepers, zombies, skeletons, witches, and a few slimes were taking up the land space. A boulder displayed all shorts of food: carrots, potatoes, potions of harming and regeneration, and gunpowder. The sky began to barf water down on them, forcing Endocrine to slow as she carefully place her steps. The slime absorbed the water, slurping gleefully.

A few monsters welcomed Z and G.P., greeting them with smiles. They fell to quiet laughter and chatter as they greeted their long-time no-see friends. But Endocrine...

The morpher gripped the stick, her stomach tensing at the sight of amount of monsters. They were chaotic. She couldn't even count them since they kept moving. Many weapons were out, ready to defend themselves. And worse of all, they were drenched in water. Endocrine's throat tightened. _Idiotic water._

She froze as a baby zombie finally looked in her direction. The baby stalked towards her, its eyes narrowing. "Who are you?"

Endocrine stepped back. She could see the rain dancing on his skull with a pat, pat, pat. More eyes turned to look at the enderman morpher. Her breath hitched. _Why did Z_ have _to go here_? _Why did it have to rain?_

The baby sniffed as he observed the nervous new-comer. "You're one of the enderman, aren't you? A _girl_ one, too!"

She took more steps back as more monsters became alert of her presence. Their eyes overwhelming the natural enderman's instincts. She mustn't provoke them, not with the rain and amount of monsters. _Damn it, stop looking at me! I'm leaving!_

"Have you heard what happened a few nights ago? The endermen wiped out an entire party because of a princess!"

"Get her out of here! We don't need to get into deeper conflict; we already have enough trouble!"

"Hey, let's knock down the slime, we'll see how funny it is to see her teleport!"

 _I am leaving, you idiots!_ Endocrine teleported away, her heart hammering. She began to walk as fast as she could without the rain touching her. Without a warning, an arrow latched onto her shoulder blade. Her nerves screamed as her body began to shake. The spider screeched, darting straight for the offending skeleton. They shot the spiders back, snickering.

Endocrine couldn't breathe. Or think clearly.

"I thought Enderman couldn't get hit by arrows! What a-"

Endocrine teleported in front of a creeper and then rammed her fist against its head. The creeper flew back and then exploded, killing several mocking monsters. Endocrine panted, her body shaking with fury. Her dominate hand burned as she jerked the water off her skin. _I will not submit to your inexcusable ridicule, idiots._

The monsters had turned into an angry mob. Endocrine kicked down another creeper, and then teleported before they could strike her. As she reappeared, she took off running, ignoring the stinging droplets. It was a matter of survival now. She pushed the slime-ella against the wind, sheltering her upper body from the hurling water. The spiders, overwhelmed, sprinted after the fleeing morpher.

"Go. Ya and your friend need to her to survive, remember? I'll be fine." Boun urged Z, his jaws tense. The undead nodded and then chased after the mob.

"Guys, stop! Just leave her alone!" Z yelled. No one listened.

Endocrine hurled through the swamp, ducking under branches and teleporting before an arrow could hit her. The monsters roared, their feet plummeting through the puddles.

"You've driven her away, good job! Let's get back to _le_ picnic! Lots of food!" Z continued, gasping for breath.

Endocrine jumped over puddles of water and swerved around innocent and passive slimes. Her hunger bar dropped, the arrow and rain water slowly contributing to the lowering statics. Endocrine knew she couldn't run forever.

And the mob knew that.

It grew harder for her to see since the slime was mostly blocking her sight. Her shoulder blade ached. All she could hear was the pounding of her own feet and the crowd's angry growls.

Endocrine stumbled to a stop as she faced a mountain wall. The rain had reduced to sprinkle as the monsters cornered Endocrine. She spun around to meet them, her instincts going hay-wire as so many eyes glared down at her. Endocrine swallowed, her teleportation limits had ran out for the next few minutes. Even if she did managed to hold them back, they would find her under ground, the creepers could easily bomb through the ground and regenerate. She and the spiders were stuck.

An arrow latched onto the slime. It barked, an popping noise over the enderman's head. Weight suddenly shifted from the stick to Endocrine's arms as she looked down at a wolf's back. She dropped the dog, her brain quacking in surprise. The wolf bounded after a skeleton angrily. The skeleton collapsed under the weight of the dog as the skeletons promptly fled the scene.

 _What's luck?_ Endocrine's breath rattled as the rain began to die down.

The spiders took a zombie down, now that it was safer for them to tackle since the skeleons were gone. But the others were focused on Endocrine. Endocrine gritted her teeth as held out the stick to them.

Z and G.P. arrived, panting. Z saw the stick, and then began barking orders in an unfamiliar language. The undeads stopped to look at him. And then they scurried away, looking at Endocrine warily like the stick was waiting to unleash lightning on them.

But the creepers weren't backing down, forcing the spiders to climb up the wall. Even if the stick did shoot lightning by some miraculous reasons, it would only power them. Endocrine eye's narrowed as she took a shaky breath. _I can do this. If I can't, I'll die anyways._

She charged at the creeper, tossing the stick from her hand as she transformed. The creepers hissed, their camouflaged coats flashing. Z pulled G.P. away, his eyes wild as he screamed.

 _Heart, don't fail me now._

She squeezed her eye shut as she plummeted through, the explosive monsters igniting with a roar. She could feel her health spiraling off an ice cliff as the explosions threw her off her aching and wet feet. Even with her eyes shut, the darkness had turned into a blinding, purple light. Then she was back in the end, a dragon heading straight for her head.

But then everything turned red as she landed on a tree, the branches gripping her cruelly. Endocrine gasped, her body wailing at her brain from the shock. Her health had dropped to a trembling, half heart. She could still hear the remaining creepers exploding.

Her nerves danced for attention as Endocrine's world began to spin. She glanced through the leaves. The tree was floating into the air, half of its trunk blown away from a rouge creeper. Endocrine placed her head down, welcoming sleep and possible death. At least she'll sleep in the peeking sun until she despawned...

* * *

 **Author's Note: Was it bad that I never knew Endermen could be shot by skeletons until I read one of my Minecraft manual books recently? I had to tweak my story a bit because of that new information. :'D**

 **This chapter was just plain torture to me... I had three fights planned out (seriously, 2016 June me.), and then there were so many questionable motives. Like, the second fight (removed) was caused by Z being careless. Obviously, if you're scared of someone, you won't** ** _be_ careless! The only thing that fight did was bring the group to the swamp while Z narrowly escapes death. AGAIN. *growling***

 **On the bright side, my mother took me to a store-selling-out and I got myself a pair of Endocrine-style boots that was $40 USD reduced to $16 USD. I totally geeked out xD (My sister said that they looked like pirate boots).**

 _ **Endertainment!**_

 _What's the difference between an enderman that steals blocks from caves and the other that steals above surface?_

 _The Enderman from the cave has a **lower**_ _self-esteem!_

 **~Rosie**


	7. Sticks and Bones Will Hurt (PT 1)

**PART 1**

* * *

In a underground deep into the earth, an enderman was sitting on a floor with her head bowed. A lava-fall from many blocks high were drifting into the lava-pool, which was slowly expanding. Ores decorated among the walls, untouched for many years except for the bats. The huge cave was a home for bats; they flew in and out chaotically and stirred up the dust. Their screeching were keeping the Ender up, her closed eyelids twitching.

Her name was Elanie, one of Queen's Drelizabeth last living heirs.

A bat darted too close for her, startling her awake. "Gah!" she yelled as the bat's wings slapped her face.

The brown bat screeched in alarm and took off to the sky.

"Dumb bats," the enderman grumbled, rubbing her green eyes. "They won't even let me take a good nap without being a nuisance."

The enderman rose to her feet, using the wall for support. Elanie swatted a few careless bats away as she walked down the cavern, taking caution when she had to bypass the pool of lava.

Once Elanie had left the cavern, she began to pause as she turned every corner, listening for any warning signs. She've already been chased so many times that day, the endermen had barking her name while she slipped into the shadows. For the last few hours it had been a relief to just sit there. Except the bats were annoying but at least she could save a bit of food she had left instead of running all over the place.

After navigating through the twists of the tunnels and a few occasional teleports through the walls, she had finally arrived to the surface. She squinted against the glare of the sunset.

"And another night begins," Elanie yawned.

She began to walk, but then paused. Elanie looked behind her, towards the direction of Alex's base that she had stumbled across the previous night. Somehow, her feet kept leading her back to the player's home, like something was calling her name. But what…?

Elanie shook her head and muttered: "I need more sleep."

One moment, Elanie was following the drowning sun. The next, she was heading towards Alex's base, which was an one-eighty degree turn. Elanie halted, confusion written all over her face.

"Look, feet!" Elanie yelled, waving her arms. "I don't want to get murdered by a player! Let me walk away from the danger? Ok? We good? Yes? Good."

And back to the sunset she went. Except… the sun was already gone. How unfortunate.

Elanie hissed, tugging her face downwards. "Look at you, feet! You've made me lost my directions!" After a moment of awkward silence, she burst into laughter. "And now I'm talking to myself again, huh? Sheesh, isolation really gets you crazy… No wonder so many monsters in the caves lose it."

Elanie turned to study her own shadow. "So… if the sun sets in the west, and the sun casts the lights from the west because it's setting; thereof I'm looking at the east… Yeah. So I just need to go the other way!"

While Elanie walked away from the moon, the monsters began to emerge from their hiding spots. They ignored Elanie since she kept her head low and avoided making eye contacts. She didn't need more curious monsters pointing out that her eyes were green instead of the usual Ender purple. Green like Alex's.

Elanie stopped in front of a lone dandelion which had interrupted the greens of the grass. She stared at it, and then at the other flowers which were farther away and shivering under her presence. However, the dandelion stood bold, challenging Elanie to step on it.

"Huh," she mused. The enderman knelt to touch the petals. "You kinda remind me of someone…"

Elanie plucked the flower and then returned to her full height. "Yeah! You remind me of Endocrine. She's just not as yellow as you."

A different enderman teleported into the plains, and then let out a big sigh of relief as he saw Elanie. "Princess!" Azza called out.

Elanie flinched, taking a few steps back. "Uh! Bye bye!"

"No!" Azza screeched, "Wait!"

But it was too late, since Elanie had slipped through his grasps. Azza groaned in exasperation, and then he barked an order towards the endermite, which had followed Azza. The endermite disappeared to carry the news where Elanie had last been sighted.

Azza glanced at the limp dandelion. He walked over, then crouched; fingering the stem before picking it up. He studied the flower for a few moments before rising back to full height. "Hey! You forgot your flower!"

He waited, holding the flower out. Elanie should appear any seconds now, since endermen can't resist the temptation to snatch their items back…

Elanie materialized, reaching for the dandelion. Azza held it high above her reach, taunting her as she tiptoed for the flower.

"Ah ah ah!" he chided, "You have to listen to me first before you can get your flower back, Princess Elanie."

"Why not the other way?" Elanie pouted, still attempting to snatch the yellow flower.

"Because I've already fell for your damn trick!" Azza scowled, slightly pushing Elanie as she nearly touched the dandelion. "I let you run off with a chorus fruit! Remember?"

"Well, forgive me for not wanting to die," she huffed.

"For the last time," he growled, "I am not here to kill you!"

Elanie eyed him skeptically. "Liar. Anyways, now that we've talked…" she leaned towards him flirtingly. "Can I have my flower back?"

He smirked. "Nope."

Elanie's face fell.

He waved for her attention. "Listen to me, you're one of the last princesses alive, Elanie."

Her face scrunched. "Are you here to kill me off? 'Cause I'm pretty sure 'one' isn't the same definition as 'last'… wait, who's still alive?"

He bit his lips. "Uh… sorry, wrong wording. Yes, you are the last _last_."

"Ok, now I'm certain that you are lying." She turned her back against him. "Who's still alive? Denna? Tosha? Qwen? Or maybe… Endocrine?" She shifted towards him hopefully.

He looked away, chewing on his bottom lip. "Erm… We believe that they all may be dead… leaving you to be the last."

Ouch.

"Am I really the last?" Elanie prodded.

He hestinated. Then he held the flower to her. "Yes."

Elanie looked like a baby villager who had been refused cake. She took the dandelion. "Oh."

"I'm sorry," he bowed.

Elanie looked into the distance, clutching the wilting flower. She took several deep breaths. "Darn, I hoped Endocrine was still alive somehow…" She looked towards Azza. "So, are you going to take me home? I'm kinda hungry…"

Azza took out several chorus fruit and then handed it to her. "Erm, about that… did you know Alex had killed –long live Queen Dreliazbeth!"

"Oh. I was assuming that you meant mot-long live Queen Drelizabeth! -Had died of old age when you said I was one of the last heirs." Elanie twirled the flower sheepishly.

"Nope. Plus, Alex took the egg with her."

Elanie let out a laugh. "Oh, oh! That explains why I keep heading towards Alex's base! The egg was calling for me! Man, that solved a lot of things."

The dragon's egg came with an extra defense in case if it would had been stolen or lost. The end princess were born with a natural instinct to go retrieve the egg so the future generations of Endermen were saved from endless cloning. The Enders didn't really enjoy the idea of cloning, because the history books had shown each time the endermen cloned, the copy were never as smart as the first. And then as it continued, each copy became dumber and dumber. Especially if they didn't have a dragon to keep their intelligence in check (so they don't go jumping off cliffs or something like that). The Enders weren't big on chaos, such as a large zombie party, so the dragon felt contented about ordering them around. And it kept the endermen happy.

"Well, at least your mystery's solved." Azza gave her a half smile.

"What I don't get is, if you've been searching for me..." Elanie folded her arms. "Then why the heck the End Army didn't go fight Alex? I imagine with fifty endermen or more, she'd be dead in a second. And then your egg problem's solved."

Azza didn't bother do anything but to give her another smile. Because, after all, the End Army was busy chasing down Endocrine. Plus, Elanie seemed to have forgotten that Alex would carry a bucket of water around with her as an extra measure. Fifty enderman can't even stand against a bucket of water. One could say that water, in a way, was chaotic. And endermen never liked chaos.

Plus, some of the endermen back home wanted to give Elanie a challenge to go retrieve the egg. It is a necessary to bring it back, and there had to be a reason why she survived for so long. He didn't want to drive Elanie away again either, so it wasn't worth a fight.

"So... can you come with me to get the egg? I'd feel better if I had an extra eye on Alex." Elanie asked, taking a bite of her fruit.

Azza bowed. "At your service."

Together, they headed east, walking in silence. The wind brushed against the grass, hushing the earth to sleep. They quietly followed the zombies who were after the player's brain. The endermen, not wanting to gain any attention, occasionally teleported when a monster turned to look at them. But once they had reached the land that were marked with torches, Alex was out and roaming. And killing.

The zombies shuffled towards the player, whining for her brain. Alex smirked as she knocked one back with her shield and then butchered the rest down.

"We need to go around Alex," Azza murmured, his body tense. Elanie nodded.

But then Alex spotted them. Elanie swiftly looked away before Alex could notice her unique eye colour. Azza cursed as the player gained interest onto the two endermen.

Alex consumed her steak, restoring her health back to full. Then she stalked her way towards them.

"Go," Azza growled, avoiding Alex's eye contact. Making eye contact with the player would latch the enderman onto a fight to the death. "Teleport now."

"If we leave, she'll just find us anyways," Elanie hissed.

"I know." Azza clenched his jaws, looking around at his surroundings. "I'm giving you a chance to run away."

"I thought we could handle it? You and me against her? I think we can be pretty terrifying if we work together," Elanie said drily.

"Not in the open!" he argued. "We won't make it because we wouldn't have the element of surprise on our side! Now go!"

"No." she stared into his face.

"Quit being unselfish," Azza stared back. "The Enders needs you alive. They don't need me more anymore than they need you. This is a small role of ours, following the order of society. We're easily disposable while you princesses aren't."

Elanie pursed her lips, finally getting to his point. He was going to hold Alex off to give Elanie another day, another chance to get the egg. For now, she needed to get out of Alex's reach.

Elanie prepared to teleport when Azza added: "If you see General Dryan… tell him I said I'll miss home, but I'm happy."

"General?" Elanie raised an eyebrow. But she never had received answer because Alex finally made eye contacts with Azza. He began to shake, unnaturally growling as he lunged towards the player. Alex grinned, side-stepping as he missed.

Elanie heard him roar out "For Queen Drelizabeth and Elanie!" as she teleported away.

He died alone.

Elanie popped next to a tree a few hundred blocks away, panting from the mental strain of moving in such a huge distance. She looked at the flower in her clutching hand. She let out a shaky sob, squeezing her eyes shut before she could cry. She brought the dandelion to her forehead. "Herobrine, if you're real and listening… please bring Endocrine back to me. Please, we made a promise…"

* * *

A white and immovable glowing dot.

A metallic taste.

Lots of annoying noises.

Pain's everywhere, like Endocrine was dunking in and out of a lake. Over. And over. And over…

"When do _tu_ think she'll wake?" she heard a familiar voice squeak out.

 _Z? Don't tell me you've died too. Noooooooooooooooooooooo, don't tell me I have to spend an eternity with an idiot!_

"Wale, considering that she hannit burst into codes yet, soon." A skeleton clattered.

 _Wait, what? Should I already be resting in pieces?_

"Is it me or did she just twitch?" Endocrine heard G.P. ask… someone.

"That's a good sign." An unfamiliar voice replied. Footsteps fading away.

Endocrine cracked her eye open, feeling like she had taken a nap after a sugar rush and ran through a bonfire. A skeleton, creeper, and zombie against a starry background were peering down at her. She flinched, startled by the amount of eyes staring intensely at her face.

 _Idiocy overload! Abort! Abort!_ Endocrine scrambled away, her muscles and skin aching with every movement.

"Good evening, sleeping beauty!" Z chirruped, laughing in relief as Endocrine looked at them in bewilderment.

"Praise da stars! Our souls' saved!" Boun sighed.

 _Huh?_

"Out of the way! Out of the way!" the unfamiliar voice returned. A witch hobbled into sight, shooing the monsters as he stepped towards the enderman. Once he was close enough, he poked Endocrine, and in return she smacked his hand away. _That burns!_

He huffed, rubbing his wrists. "Sheesh, you endermen take everything personally."

"They sure do," Z grumbled under his breath, folding his arms.

"You're lucky that my health potions didn't kill you, considering that water kills endermen," the witch hummed, poking Endocrine's skin. She hit his hand again.

 _Stop that!_ She gestured to the witch. However, he didn't, so the poking and slapping intensified as they battled against each other. Poke. Slap. Poke. Slap. Nearly touching- nope, another smack from a glowering Endocrine.

"Wale, at least she's doing wale." Boun smirked.

"Hey, Mr. Witch, what are you doing?" G.P. crooked her head.

"Testing for nerve damage from water," the witch replied, breathless. "Ow! That's enough!"

 _Then stop touching me, you idiot!_ Endocrine scowled as she folded her arms. Her skin felt like she had stepped into a lava pool. Except for the large area under her eyepatch, which had already been numbed from when she was exiled.

"At least she's alive, and the End Army won't murder us once they've found out that we've nearly killed her," Z looked at Boun.

Boun shrugged, his shoulder bones clicking. "Or she's da wrong princess, and we're dead anyways."

 _You should've let me die,_ Endocrine grumbled inside her brain. _The End doesn't want me and_ _I don't want to become a stupid dragon either._ Endocrine's eye flickered to the witch. _And my skin burns thanks to your stupid potions._

"With that expression, it looks like you're da one they want," Boun mused.

"Of course she's the one they want," the witch had pulled out a book and he was currently writing in it. "They say she's the closest in personality to the late Dragon Queen. Quite powerful, too. Now if I could just remember your name… Why are there so many princesses...?"

Endocrine rolled her eyes. _Why does no one remember my name? I should start running around with a nametag over my head that screams "Hey, I'm Endocrine! Leave me alone, you idiots!"_

"We call her Princess," Z offered.

The witch put his book away. "Well, whatever. I'm going to have to give you one more potion, Princess."

Fear pulsated through Endocrine's veins. Potions contained water, and water seriously hurts. Endocrine attempted to stand up, but then her legs had forgotten how to function. Right before the witch was about to use the potion on her, she managed to disappear. The witch looked around, spotting Endocrine a few blocks away.

"Princess," the witch growled.

 _Idiot,_ Endocrine sneered, attempting once again to stand.

"Hold still so I don't miss and melt away the remaining skin," he threatened.

 _Nope, nope, nope._

The enderman led the witch into a small chase around the swamp. Once he had gotten close enough, Endocrine would disappear. Once in a while, Endocrine would appear standing but then just fall to the ground. How infuriating.

Endocrine eventually stopped the chicken chase so she could glance upon a broken swamp area. The destruction from the creepers were filled with rushing water and an occasional floating tree. One of the trees had a little dirt-stairs leading down to the earth. A few monsters were working together, filling the craters with dirt. Endocrine gawked at the destruction as she sat on the blue-green grass. _Tell me how did I survive this again?_

While Endocrine was distracted by the ruins, the witch finally and successfully poured the health potion onto Endocrine. Her brain began to scream and her vision blurred as she twisted in pain. The witch clutched her to still her twitching body, and then rubbed the running liquid off her skin with his sleeve.

"Aaaand that's the last of it." The witch stumbled back as Endocrine accidentally punched him.

"There you guys- is she ok?" Z ran up to them, watching the enderman suffering.

"Of course she is," the witch huffed. "I just wish that someone have the brains to create an no-hunger potion, then she'll easily regain her strength since I don't have the food she needs. Now, if you don't mind, I've got to get out of here before someone else decides to get themselves seriously wounded. Good night."

G.P. and Boun joined Z, watching the witch stalk off the scene with his robes flickering in the night wind.

"Bye!" G.P. yelled. "Have a safe journey to your destination!"

Endocrine began to calm down, growing more tired as the seconds passed. Even though she had slept the afternoon or more away, she couldn't tell since she was unconscious.

"Huh, that reminds me," Z frowned. "Have anyone seen the pests? I hadn't seen them since incident."

"The spiders?" Boun snorted. "Nah, I hannit."

"I hope they're dead then," the zombie muttered.

"I think they're over there," G.P. squinted over the messy landscape. "It looks like they're napping, though."

"Or dead," Boun offered. "Da wolf-slime's definitely dead, since a flying creeper killed it. Good riddance, we don't need anymore deaths today."

Endocrine looked over the creeper craters. Aside from the silhouettes of a few monsters, she could see the bodies of two spiders slightly rising and falling. They were most likely the spiders that had struck with Endocrine for the past few days. She dragged a hand down her face as she realized that she hadn't named them yet. But was it really necessary? Endocrine couldn't speak, so the spiders will never know their names unless someone else told them.

"I'mma go help those monsters pull this place back together again. This swamp is my home after all, and they will need someone to tend after the trees," Boun yawned. "You guys should probably leave soon. I won't be surprised if the creepers returned and finish ya off if they saw ya."

"Good point," Zoan agreed. "Will I see _tu_ soon?"

"Eh, don't count on it. A lot of monsters probably don't want ya to return to their events because of the mess your _princess_ left behind. So, see ya." Boun left, waving as he stepped carefully down the hill of the destruction.

G.P. and Z watched the skeleton leave before returning their attention back to the enderman's. Endocrine was sitting on the grass patiently, her eye growing heavy as she listened to the night's harmony. Once she had caught the zombie and creeper looking at her, she crossed her arms. _What?_

Z gave her an timid smile. "Ready to go?"

Endocrine rolled her eyes. _If I could get up. Wait, maybe I can..._

Endocrine teleported into a standing position, stumbling as her muscles strained. A few seconds later, she found herself back on the ground, dazed.

G.P. limped over to her. "Do you need help?" Endocrine frowned and shook her head. The creeper hobbled back as Endocrine pushed herself up slowly. Then she wobbled slightly, but balanced herself as she began to ignore the painful pressure on her legs. She didn't turn to look at them as she nodded, signaling that she was ready to go.

It was time to go get the spiders and then head for the Nether portal. There, Endocrine can continue to heal from her near-death experience.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Fun fact: 10,000 TNTs can't kill a group of golem. They weren't even harmed. So, why not let Endocrine follow the same Minecraft logic? Harr harr harr~**

 **(If you're still confused, Chapter 13 should explain more on how she survived. Hang in there!)**

 **And holy cow, March 2nd was the day I created Endocrine. (I started writing McMonsters about a few days before 2016 Easter.)**

 _ **Endertainment:**_

 _What kind of humor does Endermen have?_

 _They have a **dry**_ _humor!_

 **~Rosie**

 **PS: I reached 7k-8k words and I decided that I needed to cut it off since it was taking way too long to edit. That's why there's 2 parts, it was originally one lonnnnnnnnnnnnng chapter :)**

 **But hey, 8k is a new word count record for me!**


	8. Straying Destiny (PT 2)

**PART 2**

* * *

The sun rested almost half-way across the sky. As the minutes passed by, Endocrine felt the pain in her tired muscles intensifying. Plus she was getting hungry again, which contributed to the lists of complaints for her brain. The enderman plopped down onto a large rock, wincing. _I loathe nearly dying._

"So. Tired," the zombie grumbled, falling to his knees and then face planting into the dirt. His pumpkin mask was badly beaten up, with cracks lining the shell and mud smeared in some places. Z yelped as the cave spider jabbed his ribs. The cave spider fled as Z attempted to squash her. "Will _tu_ stop that?! I'm not your squeaky toy!"

The spiders snickered in response.

"Maybe you should stop acting like a squeaky toy?" G.P. teased him.

Z glared at her. "Very funny."

G.P. bit into her scarf, appearing unsure on how to react to his sarcastic comment. Silence filled the Savannah as Z returned to smashing his face against the dirt. The monsters weren't sure what to do next. Suddenly, Endocrine's empty stomach interrupted the silence. The other monsters glanced at her. Endocrine folded her arms. _Excuse me for being hungry and sore!_

"Ugh. I can't sleep out here," Z groaned after a silent lapse. "The sun's too damn bright. Hey, pests, why don't _tu_ go eat a cow or something before _tu_ eat _moi_?"

The spiders eyed the zombie like he was a big chunk of a delicious cow. However, the look on G.P.'s face made them give up on the idea of turning Z into a McBurger. Endocrine wouldn't mind if the spiders killed the zombie idiot, but he was being discreet on where the portal's true direction were... _How annoying._

The spiders looked around, disappointed by the fact that there weren't a cow in sight. Instead of moping around about the lack of beef, they settled for a sheep which had wandered too far from its herd. They looked to Endocrine, hopeful that she would aid in killing the sheep since their meal were bigger than them. But Endocrine didn't look like she was moving any time soon, contributing to the spiders' disappointment.

Z avoided watching the spiders chase down the sheep and slowly poison the poor passive mob. Unlike the zombie, Endocrine watched the entire process while the creeper glanced away due to the tears building up. The creeper did not have to kill for food, so that was a bit more logical for G.P. to react that way.

The sheep finally gave its last cry and died.

"How can _tu_ do that?" Z moaned to Endocrine.

Endocrine shrugged. _I've seen a lot of torturing back in the End. Besides, why do you eat villagers while you can't even watch other monsters kill reasonably? Pathetic._

Z shuddered and added without waiting for an response, "How can Alex live with killing every single living creature?"

 _Because they're idiots._

The spiders had finished with their lunch. They returned to the group, happier than before. Endocrine leaned back on her rock, closing her eye. _You know, we're doing a terrible job with our agreement. I feel like_ I'm _protecting you and you two aren't doing anything back for me._ Endocrine opened her good eye as the cave spider crawled onto her shoulder, barely hanging on.

"Kwaaaa?" the cave spider squeaked as Endocrine winced from the sudden pressure. The enderman pushed her off once the pain started to become unbearable. Endocrine massaged her shoulder as she watched the cave spider rejoined her cousin.

 _Hmm,_ Endocrine looked to the sky and then back to the cave spider. _I think I'll call you... Kristy._

 _And you,_ Endocrine glanced at the bigger cousin. _will be... Skyros._

The spiders finally had a name, although unknown to the outside world. It was like... Endocrine had finally accepted the spiders as friends. Friends that can't even speak to each other. But that was ok to Endocrine. She will never have to listen to them utter out idiotic words, since spiders are incapable of forming words that most monsters understand.

* * *

Later that day, when the sun was setting once again, the monsters were climbing up a mountain. The creeper grunted in effort to jump her way up, while Z stood behind to make sure she didn't fall off the mountain side. Occasionally, he had to create a new path with a pick or a few blocks since they couldn't get up. The enderman and spider had it easy; the spiders could just scale the walls while Endocrine teleported. But all of the teleporting (and the continuous pain) made Endocrine exhausted. Enough that she could fall asleep standing.

"Come on, _le_ portal's just up in _la_ cave of _la_ mountain!" Z encouraged.

Once they had finally reached to the top, the moon had taken the sun's role in the sky. When Z and G.P. realized they were on safer grounds, they leaned over and panted.

"I hate climbing mountains," G.P. complained, "Tall objects are so creeper-unfriendly."

"At least it's over," Z gasped, taking off his pumpkin mask. He began to massage his sore muscles.

Endocrine rolled her eye. _At least you guys aren't as hungry I am._ She thought through her headache, which were created from all of the teleporting. Endocrine stiffened, forcing her facial muscles to remain neutral. She didn't want the green monsters to follow her out of concern.

The enderman looked around, trying to distract herself from the growing pains. The mountaintop was mostly flat, with bits of tall grass and rocks here and there. On the tallest side of the mountain were a large, dark cave. Endocrine told tell there were a nether portal nearby because there were a new sensation of magic repelling against her magic.

Skyros looked like he wanted to shove the undead off the mountain. But when he began to advance to Z, a hidden stranger had jumped onto his back. The spider screeched, causing the others- except for Endocrine- to jump.

Endocrine spun, the sight of a stray skeleton trying to ride the spider like a horse greeted her. Its bone seemed redder than the usual skeleton stray, and it had iron boot, silver gauntlets, and a nice, big black cloak. Its face was hiding under its hood, but Endocrine could see the light of the moon reflecting his skull expressions.

"Com'on, spider! I wanted to ride into the moonset!" it-he grunted, kicking Skyros's side as Kristy danced around them angrily.

"Pardon _moi,_ " Zoan sassed, "But that's Princess's pest."

The stray gave up, standing. "Ah, hello, beauties." He bowed.

"You're not from around here, aren't you?" the creeper asked.

"You're not from around here, aren't _you?"_ the stray replied.

Endocrine looked at the moon. _Seriously?_

"Tell me, travelers," the stray strutted towards the monsters, "How can I be of aid?"

"Back off, chicken ass," Z spat.

"Don't you mean chicken _pelvis?_ " the skeleton stray countered.

"Oh noooooo," G.P. groaned, throwing her head back.

"Not like we needed _tu_ to get to _le_ Nether anyways. Princess, take him away," Z adjusted his vest.

 _No._ Endocrine challenged Z flippantly.

"The Nether?" the stray gasped. "I can be of your aid!"

"No _tu_ can't. Right, Princess?" Z growled.

In response, Endocrine beckoned the stray to join her. Z's jaw dropped, his burnt nose twitching.

 _Heheheh, I think I'll see how much it takes to break you, idiot._ Endocrine smirked. _Even if that means you have to stick around for a little more._

"It's nice to be treated with respect for once," the skeleton stray murmured to the enderman. She nodded, ignoring the fuming zombie.

"Right. This way, Princess!" the skeleton declared, punching his ribcage for extra effort. Then he hesitated, "Wait, that is your name right?"

Endocrine sighed. _Another idiot who doesn't know my name._ She, the spiders, and the stray began to head for the cave entrance.

Z grumbled as he followed, "I'm going to go kill that skeleton."

"No you won't," The creeper corrected.

"Why?"

"Because you're too much of a coward." G.P. stated.

Z silently screamed, rummaging his hands through his dark hair.

"You're overreacting," G.P. stopped limping.

"I don't care!" Zoan snapped, twisting his head to look at her.

"I care," she huffed.

The stray whispered to Endocrine, "Do they always act like that?"

The enderman nodded.

Z's eyes seemed to pop as he froze. "You... care?"

"Umm, maybe?" G.P.'s head sunk into her scarf. Z gasped.

"Ah, luv is in the crisp, lacking-oxygen mountain air!" the stray cut into the moment.

"Who the hell are you?!" Z snapped, pointing to the skeleton stray.

"I! Am Sliver," The skeleton crowed.

"Well, Sliver, get lost." Z attempted to shoo him away.

"I can't, because my eyelashes are bigger than your brain." Sliver dramatically flipped his cape.

"I thought skeletons don't have eyelashes?" G.P. narrowed her eyes.

The skeleton mockingly grinned. "It's an insult."

"If skeletons don't have eyelashes, then... Sliver is implying that you have less than a brain at all!" G.P. eyes widened as she looked at Z.

"Don't give it the satisfaction!" Z hissed.

Sliver coughed. "Ex-cuse _moi_ , I'm a 'he'. Or what you zombies would say, _'un il'._ "

Yup, Endocrine was totally eating up the tension. She grinned as she walked into the cave, the glowering spiders following behind her.

"So, are you coming in?" Sliver stood next to the cave, placing his hands on his hipbones.

"Yeah," Z spat.

"Um," G.P. bit her scarf. "I'll come too?"

"Alright," Sliver bowed his head.

Z allowed G.P. had entered the cave first. But when the zombie started to go in, Sliver "accidentally" struck his foot out and tripped the zombie. Sliver didn't stick around long enough to watch Z shoot rude gestures towards him. **  
**

"So, I've been wondering," G.P. started as the monsters moved in the dark except for Endocrine's magic. "How do you skeletons reproduce?"

"Well, honey," Sliver began, "We're made of magic. Either the zombie loses all its flesh, or two skeletons has to share enough tissues to create a new version. The females has a slightly wider hips and forehead, and they're typically smaller. But their ribcages are cute."

Endocrine choked. _Cute ribcages?_ A mental image of a skeleton wearing too many delicate bows on their ribcages popped up in her brain **.**

"Now, the male skeletons have a bigger opening on their ribcage, which is shaped like a potion." Sliver pointed to where his organs would be. "That's pretty much how we skeletons can tell the difference between each other."

G.P. hummed. "Have you ever seen a hybrid?"

Sliver stopped, nearly causing Z to crash into him. "A hybrid? No. Even if there's any, they won't be able to create a new species since they went against nature's laws. However, there are mutations. I've seen mutants before."

"Like you?" Z mocked.

"Z!" G.P.'s screech echoed. Endocrine winced, her headache growing.

"What?" Z barked, "His bones have a reddish tint to it. Do I look stupid to you?"

Sliver huffed. "Now, now, where I'm from, monsters are stereotypical. Zombies are idiots, skeletons are smart, creepers have temper problems, Ghasts are depressive, and the Enders are shy but heartless creatures of the night. There's no justice in making right, all you can do is fulfill their expectations. I've tried my entire life. So, do you fathom me, or are you truly stupid _?"_

Z grunted, "Did you just call me stupid twice?"

Caught off-guard from listening to their conversations, Endocrine bumped her head onto the low ceiling. She blinked, her brain throbbing and forehead whining. She sighed, transforming into her human form. It would be easier for her to navigate since the ceiling won't be that short anymore.

The chill of the cave were relieving on her itching skin compared to her previously thicker skin. But Endocrine's magic dimmed, which made the cave's darkness fatter.

"Hey, you're a transformer?" Sliver addressed to Endocrine. She shrugged.

"I'm one, too!" G.P. squeaked.

"Lucky," Z grumbled.

"I just... don't like transforming outside of my creeper form very much," G.P. added.

"What about the spiders?" Sliver asked.

"Pests are neutral," Z scoffed.

After a few moments of silence, Endocrine detected a new aura of coldness aside of the cave's darkness. She paused, her senses highlighting. Was that Endocrine's headache playing tricks on her, or did she hear more scuffling noises than the ones of her team?

But Endocrine wasn't alone, the stray had heard the additional noise too. "Stop," Sliver commanded, halting.

Z bumped into him. "What, why? Am I too rude?"

"Well, yes but, shh," Sliver shushed Z.

"You shhh!" Z barked.

"Shhhh!" Sliver slapped his hand onto the zombie's mouth.

Z snatched Sliver's hand away. "Shhhhhhhh!"

 _Idiots._ Endocrine could feel the adrenaline in her bloodstreams. Her face paled.

Though the stillness, they could hear the echoing vwooping of the Ender's teleportation.

"We're being invaded," Sliver murmured. Endocrine and the spiders took off, their eyes better-adjusted to the dark than the others.

"'Being invaded'? Your wordings are stupid!" Z hissed.

Sliver gave him a look before pushing G.P. into a blind hobbling-run. G.P. didn't comply, but limped a bit faster.

Z blinked. "Uh, are _tu_ going to transform, G.P.? Won't that be easier for _tu_ to run?"

"Oh, sorry. Step back!" G.P. transformed, the miniature explosion knocking Silver back onto Z.

"Get off _moi,_ dog-chow!" Z grumbled as G.P. took off down the tunnel.

"I didn't know she was going to explode," Sliver grumbled, getting back on his feet. "Get off my cloak."

"Who's the dumb one now?" Z grumbled as he obeyed.

"Oh, now you're a prick?" Sliver snorted, breaking into a run.

"Shut up," Z growled, following the stray.

Once the three monsters had finally arrived, Endocrine was waiting for them with her arms folded, foot rapping the stone floor, and eye narrowed. _I'm surprised you three aren't dead by how slow you three were being, you blithering idiots! And why is there a lava pool instead of a nether portal?_ Endocrine pointed at the lava accusingly.

Sliver dumped G.P., ignoring Endocrine. "I need more time! Those squeaks aren't getting any quieter!"

"Wait, shouldn't we just give Princess back to them?" Z panted, rubbing his bruised forehead. "Why are we running? Don't they need Princess?"

Sliver turned towards him sharply, his cape stirring up the ashes with a flair. " _Do they sound courteous to you?"_

Suddenly, an endermite slipped through the ceiling but fell into the lava. Endocrine stepped away from the pool, paling. More endermites began to trinkle into the room, emerging from the dark hallway they had arrived in.

Endocrine gritted her teeth. _I'll buy you idiots some more time._ Endocrine clapped for the spider's attention, and then kicked an endermite into the lava. The spiders perked up. They turned, hissing, and lunged for the endermites.

Endocrine would had fought along, but she were growing aware of her diminishing magic. She's weakened by hunger and pain. It was not wise to engage into another fight so soon, otherwise-

"Right." Sliver nodded, turning to Z. "You, coward. Give me a pick."

Z bristled. " _Non._ "

"Wanna fight?" Sliver taunted. "If you lose, I'll feed you to the endermites."

"Don't you two dare fight!" G.P. growled.

Z glanced at G.P., then he sighed as he took a stone pick out of his inventory. Zoan tossed it to Sliver, glowering. Sliver began to attack the wall with the pick in an odd fashion.

G.P. transformed back into her preferred form, and then she nervously eyed the lava.

 _She's terrified of fire,_ Endocrine shifted her attention from the creeper to the spiders ripping the endermites apart. _Did she plan on leaving after seeing the nether portal?_ _Well, if she stays, General Dryan will tear her apart, regardless if she explodes. Poor idiot.  
_

"...And now the Nether's barrier is temporarily broken." Sliver stepped back as the wall began to glimmer. "We need to get going. Now."

"I'll stay behind," G.P. said quietly, "I don't need to be in the Nethers."

" _Non_ way, they'll kill _tu_!" Z snapped. " _Je_ -I'm scared too, but we can do this! We'll overcome the fires!"

" _Now!"_ Sliver barked, grabbing the scruffs of the green monsters' collars. With a grunt, he tossed them through the wall. "Com'on, Princess, the barrier won't stay open for long! And it won't open to Enders if they do not have a Nether Monster's permission."

Endocrine nodded, hurrying to the solidifying wall. Endocrine sprinted since the magical barrier was resurrecting. She jumped through, Sliver following closely behind.

Kristy and Skyros dropped their prey to hurry after them, but it was too late. The barrier had locked them out.

Endocrine froze as she heard the spiders screech. The room was too small for the comfort of four monsters and a previously-hiding Nether Portal, so Endocrine nearly toppled into another dimension in surprise.

 _No!_ Endocrine slammed against the wall, attempting to tear the block away from the wall. She couldn't do anything, the barrier wouldn't let her. _Dryan'll kill them!_ Endocrine punched the barrier.

Sliver stared at the ground. "If the barrier lets the spiders through, then we'll all be dead. I'm sorry."

"We _all?_ " Z spluttered, "What, Princess isn't the one they want?"

Sliver rolled his eyes... if he had any. "Ok, tell me idiot, why is Princess running too?"

Z gave Sliver a blank expression.

Endocrine slammed her head against the wall, her senses numbing. She couldn't hear the outside noises anymore as the magic strengthened. _Kristy and Skyros... why is everything being taken away from me?_

In order to keep the Enders out of the portal, the Nethers had installed a barrier. It was what kept the portal hidden from Enders for many years. Only select Enders were allowed through because of the "Treaty of Concord" that Queen Drelizabeth and the Nether King agreed on. The only other way in was through Alex's base, but Alex is currently too dangerous for the world to handle. **  
**

While Endocrine attempted to beat the wall up, G.P. was huddled in a corner, quivering and staring wide-eyed at the portal wide-eyed. The room was silent except for the sounds of Endocrine's attempt to destroy the barrier and the nether portal's magic.

Sliver sighed. "I'll tell you why Princess's running. She's not the one they want. That means there's another End Princess out there alive. But the question is, why? Who's still alive? We'll find the answers in the Nether Kingdom, I'm sure they'll have the answers. Let's not put the spider's deaths in vain. For their sake and ours, we must move on deeper into our tale!"

Z laughed bitterly, "We're not upset about the spiders. And we know that's there's another princess alive."

"Right, right, and you're all lacking oxygen." Sliver automatically dismissed Z. "Let's go."

"I-I-I-I-I'm sssst-ssssst-sssst-ssssstaaaa..." G.P. attempted to talk, her breath hiccuping.

"Look, if we don't leave, the magic's going to absorb us. Why do you think there's soulsands? I mean look, it's already eating Princess!" Sliver gestured to the nether portal's magic drifting towards Endocrine. Somehow, the magic was a soothing feeling to Endocrine as she stared at the wall. But from an outside perspective, it looked like it was draining her.

Z squeezed his eyes shut. " _Je suis desole_ ," he apologised. He threw his arm around G.P. and then jumped into the portal. The creeper screamed, threatening to explode, but they were through. Endocrine took a shuddering breath, pulling away from the wall. _Be smart, Kristy and Skyros. Maybe you both will outwit that bastard, Dryan._

"You carriage to safety awaits, Princess." Sliver bowed.

Endocrine turned to stare at the stray, and then she nodded.

It only took her two steps to go into the portal. The magic wooshed around her, tugging onto her loose coat. Her vision blurred, the magic of the portal feeling different from her usual teleportation's magic. It felt more... mechanical, to put it.

Endocrine stumbled out into the Nether World, the heat waves slapping the human's face. She collapsed, slightly nauseous.

A pigman walked over to her, his vine-styled shoes halting in front of her face. "Welcome to Hell."

* * *

General Dryan found a pair of spiders crying out by a wall; a pile of despawning endermites surrounding them. "You!" Dryan roared, pointing to the arachnids. "Where's the brat?!"

The cave spider, Kristy, screeched in fury as she sprinted for the general. She bit deeply. He roared out. Dryan punched the spider off. "You sent my men crying back to me that there were only two spiders and no sign of a portal! Where is Endocrine?!"

Kristy spat, crouching menacingly. Dryan kicked the cave spider into the air, and then grabbed one of her hind legs to let her dangle. He directed his attention back to the piles of endermite. The bigger spider was gone.

"What?" He growled, surveying the room. The spider was nowhere to be seen. Its wasn't on the ceiling; Dryan wasn't stupid enough to fall for that cliched trick of a spider swooping onto his face.

An enderman emerged from the tunnel. "Sheesh, I can't seem to teleport into this room... Oh, General! Sir!"

Dryan pointed at the enderman with his free hand. "Solider!"

"Sir?" the Enderman froze.

"Did you run into a spider on the way down here? Like this one, but bigger?" Dryan held the cave spider to the solider.

The Enderman relaxed. "No, sir."

General Dryan scoffed. "Wow. It must had commit suicide by jumping into the lava. Good for it."

"Sir, I have news to deliver." The Enderman's jaws tensed.

"Spit it out, idiot. Not like the Nether's magic is going anywhere with the brat, anyways." General Dryan began to tease the cave spider.

"Azza had found Princess Elanie and informed her of her role." The Enderman said, "And she is now currently attempting to steal the egg back from Alex the Player."

"Good, good," General Dryan hummed. The spider squeaked as he tossed her into the air lightly.

"However... Alex may had... spotted them..." The solider fussed with his hands as he stared at the floor.

Dryan's hold on the cave spider tightened. "What do you mean by 'spotted?' Long live Queen Drelizabeth- forbid, did Alex killed the princess?!"

"No, but... Huh. How do I put this?" The Enderman closed his eyes. "... Azza's dead. I'm sorry."

Awful silence struck them like an aftermath of an explosion. General Dryan gawked at the solider, appearing to be suffocating.

"Azza... no... you must had mistaken him for someone else... a clone of Azza's..." Dryan choked out, grinning despite of his terrified body language. "Or he's playing a prank on me, right?"

"Please breathe, sir." The solider looked at Dryan with pity.

"No..." Dryan gasped, shaking his head as he choked the terrified cave spider. "Not another friend... Dammit!"

The solider turned to walk away, but Dryan called out, "Stop."

"Sir?"

"We cannot afford to lose any more Enders." Dryan struggled to control his breathing. "Replace them all but six with clones and send them home. Gather all of the clones here. There's only two ways out of the nether portal. Through Alex's base or here. Endocrine may offend the 'Treaty of Concord', so we need to be prepared for any scenario. Or she will come out alive, and we'll kill her."

"Yes, sir. Bring all the clones and take six endermen back here, correct, sir?" The Enderman repeated.

"Yes. And remember: send a few to protect Princess Elanie at all costs, but out of sight. Now, go!" Dryan ordered. The Enderman saluted, turning to hurry up the tunnels and inform the End Army of the new instructions.

"Damn it, Endocrine!" Dryan growled, "First, you came back to the End, sent us on a hunt, explode half a swamp away, _survived that,_ and now _this?!_ Why can't you die already?"

Dryan hurled the cave spider at a wall. "And you... you _pests_ decided to protect and-and-and-ugh! What is she planning?!"

The cave spider cried out as the general snatched her back into his reach. "Does the brat really think she can avoid every single fight?! Does she really think she can defy destiny?!"

He squeezed his eyes shut. "Qu-queen Drelizabeth said that it's impossible to run from fate... Fate's so much stronger than the will of life. Trying to go against will take things away... Azza..." Dryan's knees collasped, crushing the cave's spider body with his hands as he began to chant in the End language.

"... Queen Drelizabeth..." General Dryan cracked, flinging the spider aside as tears fell into his palms. He screamed.

The hidden cave spider's cousin gazed on with horror as Kristy's legs curled as she took a staggering, final breath.

Another enderman came scrambling into the room, wincing as he struck his head on a cave ceiling. For sure, the entrance to the Nether Portal was built to be unfriendly towards the Enders.

"Don't die, Dryan!" the Enderman pleaded, kneeling next to the screaming General.

But then Dryan began to laugh. And laugh. "You idiot... I've already been dead since I started chasing the princesses! You think I'm going to die now when I got Endocrine's blood so close on my hands? I refuse to die now! Hah... hahahaha hahaha!"

Dryan wiped his face with his arms. "She's lucky she had escaped. The Queen herself is going to bring her back to me. Hahaha! Can't you see it now? The brat's hungry! We've grew up with same age, and alive for so long to die on the same day! I'll kill her and I'll poison myself with her blood. She'll die mute and I'll die a blind enderman!" The general cackled, his once-vibrant violet eyes misting and cracking; scars forming all over his face. "And we'll rot in the deepest void together! Is that not a coincidence of destiny, Queen Drelizabeth?"

* * *

 **Author's Note: _Je suis desole=_ I am sorry _._ There should be accent marks over the e's in _desole._**

 **Gosh, the first 7 chapters were a bit of a struggle for me back in the summers of 2016, trying to develop and understand my characters, along with finding the motivation to write. Thankfully, I had** _ **Take Back the Night**_ **to boost me on and now I'm editing a story that I enjoy reading over and over! ^^**

 _ **Endertainment:**_

 _What was Minecraft like in 2011?  
_

 _Minecraft was **edgy**! ;)  
_

 **~Rosie**


	9. The Pigmen and their Gold

The pigman leaned over, pulling Endocrine to her feet. His eyes were hidden by the sunglasses. "You alright, bro?"

Endocrine's eyebrow twitched. _Is that a new name for me? Ughhhhhhh. Give me a break. I just lost my... spiders… friends..._

While Endocrine mulled over her thoughts, Sliver stepped out of the portal. The skeleton stray side-stepped around Endocrine, stretching as he looked around the Nether. He seemed taller than usual.

"Dudes, today's an awesome day!" the pigman exclaimed, pushing his sunglasses onto his forehead. "Long time no see, Z!"

" _Dames,_ meet Durf." Z waved. "We've met when he was lost in _le_ Overworld."

"I know who he is," Sliver huffed, wiping the ashes off his gauntlets.

"Yo, Sliver, what'cha doing here, dog chow? You know you ain't allowed here like always," Durf drawled.

"I'm their new guide." Sliver avoided Durf's eye contact.

The sunglassed-pigman clicked, shaking his head. "Good luck then, dog chow, don't get caught, you know what they'll do to you."

"Yeah," Sliver muttered, descending into his hood.

While Z and Durf started catching up onto events, Endocrine glanced to her left. G.P. was standing by herself, beginning to calm down from being forced into a nightmare, although her breathing was short and shaggy. _Poor idiot._

"So, who's you?" the pigman turned to Endocrine, his lazy eyes flickering around her face. Of course, Endocrine couldn't introduce herself because she was mute.

"Oi, ain't you shy?" Durf added.

"Princess's mute," Z spoke up.

"Ah, that's warm."

Endocrine's narrowed her eyebrows as she folded her arms and hunched her shoulders. _Did you just… what?_

Durf rolled his eyes. "That's your Overworld version of 'cool'. There's no such thing as 'cool' here in hell. There's hot and then there's hawt and then even more haaaaaawwwt."

Endocrine didn't know whether or not she was supposed to cringe or fall over with muted laughter.

"Dah! Dah! Daaaa!" a hollering baby pigman interrupted, riding its chicken towards his father, Durf. The baby pigman didn't have any flesh on his head. "Who's they?"

Durf pointed to Z. "That's your cousin, Zoan."

The baby pigman scowled. "No, he ain't pink."

The pigmen chortled, their laughter mixed with snorts.

"Whatever. I'm bored." The baby pigman huffed, "Come, Sir Squiggles. Let's leave these freaks alone."

The chicken, Sir Squiggles, clucked, masking the same attitude as its rider. Sir Squiggles "galloped" away with the baby pigman pointing the way with his miniature gold sword.

Endocrine crooked her head. _Are all babies naturally bad-tempered?_

"Ah, pipsqueak's gonna become an epic squad leader when he grows up," Durf sniffed, tears forming in his eyes.

"Let's get going," Sliver shook the red dust off his cape. "We're wasting precious time, and I have a certain monster I'd like to see before I hit the dust."

"Right." Durf smirked, slapping Sliver's back. Then he stepped away, clapping for attention. "Hey, pigmen!"

His squad snapped their undivided attention to Durf.

"Ain't we pigmen?!" Durf shouted, stomping his foot.

"Ya!" They yelled back.

"AIN'T WE PIGMEN?!"

"YAH!"

"AIN'T WE FORGIVING OF ALL?"

"YAH!"

"DO WE KICK MONSTERS' ASSES?"

"YAAAAAS!" The pigmen thrusted their swords to the air.

"DO WE SHAME OUR MOMMA PIGMAN?"

"HELL YAH!"

"NO!"

"Oh…" the pigmen shifted as they looked down while Durf face palmed. Zoan stifled his laughter, his shoulders shaking as he ducked his head.

Durf jumped back into his prep rally speech. "DO WE DEFEND THIS LOVELY LAND OF LAVA?!"

"YA!"

"WILL WE MAKE OUR WITHER KING PROUD?!"

"YAH!"

"AIN'T YOU SICK OF ALL THIS POINTLESS GIRLY SQUEALING?!"

"HELL YAAAAAAAAAAS!"

"THEN LET US, PRECIOUS SIBLINGS, GO!"

The pigmen jumped, roaring and snorting as they crashed into each other like boars.

Sliver punched Z since he couldn't stop snickering. The stray hissed, "Don't offend them."

"You're offending _moi,_ " Z mocked. Sliver shook his head in warning before walking away.

"Z?" G.P. whimpered.

" _Oui?"_ Z adjusted his vest.

"You look greener than usual," she whispered.

"I've always been green!" Z moaned, slamming his palms onto his face.

"No, you were aqua."

"That's because _le_ sky's _bleu_ , so I look _bleu-_ er," the zombie explained, "But here, there's _non_ _bleu_ , so it casts green shadows, hmm?"

"So, shouldn't you appear redder?" G.P. crooked her head. "You know, like, the lights? The ceiling's red, too."

 _I'm confused._ Endocrine placed her hands on her hips, crooking her head and squinting at them. Z stared at G.P., baffled.

"Overworld mobs! We're leaving!" a pigman shouted, stomping his feet.

"Better continue our adventure," the stray sang, already ahead. Endocrine teleported to him, beginning her walk next to Sliver. He did seemed a lot taller than before he entered the portal. He was almost a head taller than her human form was. _How the hell are you getting so tall?_

They began their adventure through the Nether. The pigmen were grunting among themselves in pig-latin, and Sliver didn't seem to be in the mood to speak to anyone. When Endocrine glanced back, she noticed that G.P. and Z were huddled close together and arguing over the silliest things, such as the colours. Endocrine sighed, hungrier than ever. Deciding to distract herself from the ache, she busied herself on observing the hellish place.

It was the world's biggest cave. Uneven ceilings towered over their heads, with batches of glowstones dangling like broken chandeliers. Along with the glowstones, there were several holes in the ceiling where lava poured out, giving the Nether a soft golden look against the sharp maroon. Lusty fires dotted the floor, dancing seductively for eternity until someone will suffocate it. The walls were twisted and turning, with smaller caves leading down or up the Nether. Occasionally, soul sands were blanketed over the floor, whispering the eternal screams of unfortunate creatures as dark magic sucked them into the sand.

Other tribes of pigmen were wandering about, grunting and flashing golden swords. They had the skin, head, and limbs of a pig; the body of a man, and the cells and scent of a zombie. Their fleshy skin had edges which were decaying, the red blood transformed into icky, green mucus. The mucus was a successful attempt to preserve the skin from fading too quickly in the warmer climate. Their dark grey bones were showing in random places, while the parts of the flesh were scabbing and an ugly red. Unlike the Overworld monsters whom wore full clothes to stay warm, the pigmen fashioned a leather breechcloth.

A few pigmen fenced, out of the way of the traveling group's directions. Endocrine watched a pigman fall but then quickly rolled back to its feet. Baby pigmen were scattered about, watching the adults go about their business. They didn't have any flesh on their grey skull. Endocrine assumed that the older they are, the more pig-like they became. They are, after all, pigman.

Durf fell back, walking next to the stray. "Hey, Princess, you know what's the warmest things about Hell and Overworld?"

Endocrine shrugged.

"Time in Hell slows down. Like hell yah, it's probably faster than teleporting. I've heard y'all Endies use the Nether to teleport though. That's swell." Durf put his sunglasses back over his eyes.

Endocrine shrugged once again. It used to be true in the Overworld. When an enderman didn't complete their teleportation magic correctly, they would land in the Nether where time almost stops compared to the Overworld. There, they could catch their breath and teleport back into the Overworld if they needed. But ever since the Nether magic had denied most of the Ender's access, the Enders began to travel through the End.

* * *

As the minutes passed, Endocrine grew aware of the uncomfortable heat as her hair slowly fizzed and her throat parched. The question was… would the pigmen kill her if she transformed into her Enderman form, which would help her to cool down? She tapped on Sliver's shoulder bone.

Sliver startled. "What?"

Endocrine tapped to herself, and then she held out two hands, moving the right hand behind her left hand, and then her left hand taking the previous place of the right's hand.

"You want to talk about yourself?" Sliver asked.

She rolled her eye. _No!_

"Uhh… is there something wrong with your heart? Is it broken?"

 _No._ Endocrine shook her head.

"Ooh, charades!" Durf joined in. "Let me guess, Alex stole an organ?"

 _Do I look dead to you?_ Endocrine held out her hands again and switched them around.

"Uhh… you like the outer space?" Sliver said.

"You're looking for a treasure map?" Durf rubbed his chin.

 _Nooooo._ Endocrine had to stop walking so she could stomp her foot and shake her head.

Sliver patted Durf's head. "Not even close, pig."

"Hey, that's racist!" Durf complained.

"You call me 'dog chow'," Sliver pointed out.

"Oh, that's true." Durf had to stop walking to bow dramatically; placing his sunglasses back onto his forehead. "Dog chow, you shall call me Bacon."

"You're a delicious and forgiving bacon in a searing-hot furnace," Sliver joked, also coming to a stop.

Durf ignored Sliver, returning his attention to Endocrine. "How about… you want to become part of the family of rolling rocks?"

Endocrine dramatically collapsed, giving up.

"Oooh, she's swooning," Durf shook the stray's arm.

"Nah," Sliver commented.

"Princess, this is _non_ times for games," Z scolded as he walked pass them.

 _I wish you'd go fall into a lava pool full of dead idiots._ Endocrine glowered, chucking a piece of dirt from her inventory at Zoan.

"She hates you, Z," Sliver stated.

"Everyone hates _tu_ ," Z snapped.

G.P. cut in, "Um, isn't 'everyone's' a bit of an exaggeration?" But the pigmen ooohing's drowned her out. G.P.'s reasoning didn't go unnoticed by Z, so he sent a scowl in Sliver's direction and marched on ahead.

Endocrine rose to her feet, brushing the ashes and red dust off her jacket. Sliver and Durf had returned to their walk, leaving her behind. Endocrine rubbed her forehead, her headache slowly turning into a migraine. She decided that she'll stay as a human for a while longer. She could stand the heat until it's unbearable, because anything could kill them here if they made a wrong move. That included offending the entire Nether and sending them on an another war against the Enders, which won't end up well for anyone. But for now, she has to keep moving.

* * *

After three hours of seemingly never-changing landscape and the endless bickering of the zombie and stray, Endocrine had enough. She wanted to nuke the entire Nether. But what could she do in the mist of her worsening brain condition and waxing hunger? And since no one was talking to her, she slowly grew into a pit of despair as she worried about the spiders. At this rate, the other voice in her head will return to torment her...

The monsters were trekking through a small cave with curving pillars of Netherrack. When they were about halfway to another large section of the Nether, a large Magma Cube fell from a hole in a ceiling. G.P. screamed, affecting Z to jump.

"Hey, hey, breathe," Z patted G.P.'s upper back while her scream fell short. "See? In, and out. In, and out…"

The cube twisted to look down at the group. It had red, intimating eyes with golden irises; its body's a deep crimson and burgundy cube. If Endocrine squinted hard enough, she could see magma inside the slime.

"Behold," one of the pigmen grunted, "The magma cube. Let it pass. No rash movements."

G.P. trembled, her body leaning away from the lava slime yet her feet were planted onto the ground. The creeper's breathing was shallow as she bit down on her scarf. Hard.

The magma cube took one look at the creeper. It meowed. G.P. paled.

"Dudes! It's a cat-cube!" Durf gasped.

G.P. bolted. The Magma cube's eyes were locked on her, leaping. The monsters had to throw their bodies against the wall to avoid getting crushed or burnt by the large slime.

Once the danger had passed by, Z roared out, "Oh, _non tu_ don't!" He ran after the cat-cube.

 _Idiots._ Endocrine's inner thoughts groaned.

Sliver took after the running monsters. Endocrine did her best to keep up by teleporting and lightly skimming over the ground despite her low hunger bar. In contrast, the pigmen sat down, bragging about their possessions and comparing golden swords.

"Get the demon away from me!" G.P. screeched, transforming into her human from so she could escape the bouncing and meowing magma cube.

"I'm trying!" Z wheezed.

"Stop running after the Cube, you fool!" Sliver barked, his cape surfing on the hot wind.

Endocrine gave up chasing after them as nausea threatened to overwhelm her. _You're encouraging the Magma cube, idiot._

"Listen to me, you're making this worse!" Sliver growled.

"Why should I… listen to _tu_ … if you're so smart?!" Z gasped.

Sliver's voice dropped an octave. "You will see."

The temperature seemed to get hotter and wetter around them, the air quivering. It didn't seem to bother the now-standing stray and the cat-cube.

G.P. Creen ran over the soul sands, the souls clasping onto G.P.'s feet and pleaded to save them from damnation. The Magma cube jumped and landed. It narrowly missed crushing G.P.'s body as she struggled to escape the begging of the soul sand. She broke free onto the glitching, floating gravels. The cube slammed onto the gravel, the flames flying from its body. Gravity and order was restored onto the gravel.

Zoan skidded to a stop on the edge of the soul sands, horror mapped on his face as the creeper and slime fell. A few seconds later, a loud boom shook the area as the heat hissed.

"G.P.!" Z wailed, faltering.

Endocrine and Sliver hurried over the soul sands and onto the remaining gravels supported by Netherracks. They peered over the edge with Z. The magma cube was swimming in the lava, which was sweeping into the crater-hole. G.P.'s gone. Dead.

Zoan trembled, tears filling his eyes. Endocrine bowed her head in respect while the stray shook his head.

"First rule of the Nether," Sliver huffed, slamming his fist against Z's shoulder. "Stay calm. Second, understand that everything's out to kill us."

Endocrine nodded. _Everything's always out to kill something._

"Well, I'm sorry we didn't know!" Z growled, shoving Sliver. "Not like anyone told us!"

"Oh, they've tried." Sliver turned his back on him. "But you were too busy picking fights with me." He walked away.

Z stared at the stray pushing through the soul sands. Then Z ran, leaped, and then punched the back of his skull. " _Tu_ need to _shut up!"_

"Shut up?" Sliver chuckled as he straightened, his right hand summoning a bow. "A terrible insult, really."

Endocrine could sense a brawl thickening like smoke. _This is going to be fun._ Endocrine chose a safe spot to sit on. _Now if I had some chorus fruit to go along with this…_ Endocrine's stomach growled.

"Here's a warning, coward." Sliver turned to Z, popping his joints. "Back down now if you value your life, unlike your friend who had acted foolishly in terror. And for everyone's sake, don't mess up again."

Z's eyes narrowed, reeling in for a second punch.

Silver staggered as his ribcage slightly bent inwards. However, he recovered and then he shot Z with a slowness arrow. A pick materialized into the zombie's hand. Z swung the stone pick towards the skeleton.

The stray side-stepped, shooting the arrow. Z deflected it at the last moment with his pick axe.

"Huh. Not bad. You're fast even when you're slow." Sliver complimented.

"Shut up!" Z yelled, tears flowing as his hands shook. Sliver stepped back. Z slowly charged. Sliver shot Z with another slowness arrow. Z cried out, throwing his pick. Sliver's abrupt movement to avoid the pick had tossed his hood back. Cracks and patches of black were decorated on his rough skull.

They panted, glaring at each other. Sliver's sudden height boost began to make sense to Endocrine. She recalled his words: " _I've seen mutations before."_

Sliver was a mutated wither skeleton. Being in the Nether must have restored his original height. The Nether magic must had made Sliver short in the Overworld to help him to blend in better.

Z made the next move once his slowness wore off. He summoned another pick as he ducked Sliver's arrow. Z swung it around, the air swooshing as they skimmed past each other.

"Pretty good for a coward," Sliver taunted, ducking an overhead swing. Sliver nocked his bow, but then he had to step aside to avoid another attack. Sliver accidentally dropped his arrow.

"Why didn't _tu_ finish _moi_ off while I waited for the effects to wear off? I know you're no fool," Z growled. He attempted to knock Sliver off his feet but Sliver simply jumped over his attack.

"I'm a knight, not a savage." Sliver punched Z. Then the Wither-stray pulled him down. "I take my turns."

Z managed to break one of Sliver's ribs. The broken rib bone flew back into place, although not mending. The zombie was so close to escaping, but the Wither-stray refused to release him.

"Pathetic you couldn't protect your _play things._ " Sliver gasped, using his foot to hold Z down. He placed the arrow onto his bowstring. "Given up?"

Z yelled in pain.

"Huh, I thought so." Sliver snorted, thumbing the feather. "Anger and grief are pathetic reasons to start a joust. You'll get over it, won't you?"

" _Jamais,_ " Z hissed.

"Shame." Sliver rolled his shoulders. "I've heard the head is the weakest spot of the body. Want to see what colour you'll bleed from your tiny brains, hmm? Any last moment begging? I might spare-"

"You're an obvious mistake," Z spat.

Sliver yanked the string back, conflict written all over his face.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** _ **Jamais=**_ **Never**

 **I'm delighted to see people caring for Kristy the cave spider… I'm sorry I had to kill her off, the plot requires it. D: Poor Skylos… RIP Kristy 2017.**

 **Remember, time in the Nether goes much slowly, so I believe General Dryan is still laughing over by the lava pool.**

 _ **Endertainment!**_

 _Why do Endermen enjoy visiting the Nether?_

 _Because they've_ _ **nether**_ _see water there!_

 **~Rosie**


	10. Withering Health

A piercing silence between the Wither-stray an vd the zombie emerged. Endocrine gripped the block she was sitting on. She could sense that Sliver didn't want to kill Z, but to teach him a lesson. Or maybe Sliver wanted to drive Z into insanity?

"Halt! Who goes there?!" A new feminine voice interrupted. Sliver startled, twisting to shoot the arrow towards the new voice. He immediately flipped his hood back on and nocked another slowness arrow.

 _Aww, I wanted you to kill the idiot!_ Endocrine pouted.

A blaze with a black pearl on its forehead cautiously emerged from a cave, eying the slowness arrow which was stuck on the wall. Once it saw Sliver pinning Z down with his foot, it yelped and fired magic at them. Sliver ducked the fireballs.

"Sliv?" the blaze narrowed its eyes.

"Gold?" Sliver responded, tucking his bow into his inventory and stepping off Z.

The blaze yelled and flung more fireballs at Sliver. "How dare you! How dare you! How dare you show your face in here?! You know aren't allowed in the Nether! Ugh!"

Sliver side-stepped the fireballs. "I-"

"And what were you doing on that zombie?" the blaze growled, using its dark magic- or smoke since Endocrine couldn't tell- to levitate up.

Sliver gestured to Z, whom was staring at the rouge floor. "Oh this fool?" Sliver snorted, "I was taking care of business."

"Define business," The blaze huffed, its rods stiff among the body of smoke.

Sliver walked towards the blaze, and then his head dipped with a flourish bow.

"That was not what I meant!" the blaze spat.

"I know," Sliver mused, "I've been wishing to do that for a long time. Anyways, this zombie had been picking bad fights and I wanted to show how low he's on my list."

The blaze regarded Z coldly, its rods returning to its natural state of orbit. "I see."

Endocrine stood up, disappointed. She brushed the ashes off her jacket as she looked at the soul sands, the cliff where G.P. had died, and then to the kneeling Z. With a sigh, Endocrine made her way over to the Nether Monsters.

"Anyways, Princess, meet Goldy. Goldy, meet Princess. Goldy, ignore that shameful zombie over there." Sliver introduced.

"Sliver, stop!" Goldy's rods spun at a faster rate. "You know I have to kill you if I ever find you again!"

"It's worth the consequence; you're the only thing I can't lose." Sliver deadpanned.

"Ugh!" Goldy huffed, turning away from Sliver.

"So, how's the Nether treating you, Goldy?" Sliver asked.

"Like a prized bride," she scoffed. "They're betting on me, and I can't even do anything because father's greedier than ever."

"Jerks," Sliver agreed, folding his arms.

Z rejoined the group as he got up and shuffled over, avoiding everyone's eyes.

Sliver glanced at him. "Right." Sliver clicked, shifting his attention back to the blaze. "I need you to take these two to the Wither King. They've been seeking temporal shelter, at least long enough for the End Army to leave. About a year in here would be long enough, I believe."

 _A year?!_ Endocrine started. _I don't even have enough idiotic food for that! I don't have any food!_

Goldy inspected Endocrine's water-proof boots to her fizzy hair. "Ah. Then the End Army's out for her life, correct? Then her real name is 'Princess Endocrine'."

 _Yes, finally! Someone knows my name!_ Endocrine punched the air, beaming.

"Endocrine? They named _tu_ after a hormone?" Z gawked.

 _Stuff it, zombie._ Endocrine glared, shoving her fist towards Z.

"Eh. I like Princess more." Z muttered, slinking away from Endocrine.

"Princess Endocrine, huh?" Sliver crooked his head. "I bet you'll become the next End Queen. Queen Endocrine… It has a nice ring to it. It just slips off the tongue easily."

"Queen Endocrine," Goldy agreed.

 _Why do monsters insists on me becoming a queen?_ Endocrine rolled her eyes as she stalked away from the group. _Becoming a queen isn't appealing to me. If I wasn't born an enderman, monsters won't be calling me a queen! What did I do to deserve the title? Sit, wave, and look pretty?_

The other part of Endocrine's mind hissed back to her internal dialogue, _You were born and raised into the role of queen. The End needs you, no matter how many times they refuse to accept it._

Endocrine still doesn't like that other voice.

"Queen Endocrine's stupider than Endocrine. It should be _Dame de Viollete Fin._ I like that more, _oui._ Can I call _tu_ that, Princess?" Z peeped.

 _No._

"Shut your trap, Z." Sliver huffed. "Shouldn't you be wailing about your creeper friend more than agonizing over a name? Or the fact I nearly killed _tu?_ "

"That, is why I'm not bothering to react anymore," Z grumbled, heaving a deep sigh.

Goldy called Endocrine back to her before the enderman morpher could wander too far. "Princess Endocrine. Come, follow me to enter the Nether Kingdom. You too, zombie." Goldy moved back into the cave that she came from.

"Hey, Goldy? When was the last time you were in your human form?" Sliver asked, bouncing after her.

"Too long," Goldy sighed, waiting for the monsters to catch up.

"Why not transform here and now?" Sliver suggested.

Goldy pursed her lips, hesitation written all over her face.

"Even I understand that transformers grow restless if they don't alternate between forms." Sliver pointed to Endocrine.

Endocrine rolled her eye as she stepped into the cave. _I don't get that restless._

Goldy rolled her eyes and sighed. "Fine."

Goldy's smoke increased their volumes, engulfing her. Then the smoke cleared, revealing her tanned human self.

Goldy had parts of her hair pulled to the back and then brought to the front, which was wrapped together in loose gold ribbons. She had a relaxed dress on with black tights and white shoes that wrapped around her leg. Her golden eyelashes framed her dark, angry eyes.

"Is your soul joyous now?" Goldy huffed.

"Are _you_ joyful?" Sliver retorted.

Goldy blinked. "Hmm. _Si._ It's good to have a stretch."

"Why are your eyelashes golden?" Z scrunched his face as he crooked his head. "Don't girls usually have dark eyelashes?"

Goldy rolled her eyes as she stretched. "It's my retarded attempt to look uglier. It actually compliments my hair. I should've shaved my hair off. Stupid father, he won't let me change my eyelashes back to ebony. Then I'd look plainer."

"She's well valued because of her beauty and the ability to transform. Female blaze transformers are even rarer than you, Princess Endocrine. That means she'll easily snag the attention of the higher rank, such as the Wither King," Sliver whispered to Endocrine. "She hates it."

"I can hear you," Goldy growled.

"Those pigmen told me that you used to be a lot sweeter until your father started searching for suitors," Sliver snorted, "They were right."

"Yeah, and then I became a pile of charcoal. How'd you like me now?" Goldy struck her tongue at him.

Sliver actually pondered on that, indirectly fueling Endocrine's amusement.

Goldy scoffed in disbelief before turning to face Z and Endocrine. "Welcome to the Nether Kingdom. Up ahead, we will soon approach the Nether Fortress, hearth to many Nether Monsters' dwellings. Oh, and Sliv, I recommend you get far away as possible before someone catches heat of you."

Sliver nodded, "I'll be around. Before I forget again... Z, I'm sorry about your friend. She seemed nice." And with another flourish bow, the Wither-Stray took off to the shadows of the Nether.

Z stared at the floor, his fists clenching and lips biting.

Goldy cleared her throat. "Right. Watch your steps and brace yourselves for the most attractive feature of Hell." She pointed to the top of the crimson hill.

Z eyed the hill, sighing as he muttered under his breath, "More terrains to climb. The world hates me today."

While Goldy helped Z struggled his way up the hill, Endocrine teleported to the top and surveyed her surroundings. A huge body of lava with pillars of maroon nether bricks staked deep into the sea greeted Endocrine. Inside the fortress, were indications of mazes with hallways and rooms.

Endocrine raised an eyebrow. _Am I supposed to be impressed by a simple and small structure?_

Z finally made to the top of the hill, dragging himself to stand next to Endocrine. Goldy flew over the lava, turning towards Endocrine and Z. "The Fortresses are the only structures of the Kingdom that invaders will see of the Nether Kingdom. It is concealed for protection services but prevents Overworld Monsters from accidentally stumbling across the magic trigger and revealing the rest of the Kingdom. The fortresses are obviously built to guard and defend, which is its major purpose."

"Why would they hide a kingdom right now?" Z asked, pulling out a stack of carrots. "I don't think _le_ End would want _le_ Nether."

"Because now we're constantly faced with the threat of Alex," Goldy said.

"Oh," Z muttered, cracking a carrot with his teeth.

Endocrine cringed as her stomach growled loudly.

Goldy landed onto Netherracks. "I see." Goldy stared at Endocrine. "You're in a hurry. You can't even stay for a Nether Week."

"What do _tu_ mean by that?!" Z froze mid-crunch.

"Don't talk with food in your mouth unless you want a blaze to blast your brains out. Anyways, It means I need to take you two to King Wird immediately because of undesirous consequences. " Goldy informed, pointing to a makeshift cobblestone stairs. "Head up the Alex-made Cobblestone stairs and we will continue our tour."

Goldy headed for the stairs with Endocrine and Z following. Z was the second to reach there, so he gave Endocrine a little bow and stepped aside. Endocrine blinked, gingerly walking around Z.

" _Tu_ go next, G-" Z paused. Endocrine paused on the stairs to look back at him. Z shook his head with a sighed, but then flinched when he met Endocrine's eye.

"What?" he snapped. Endocrine shrugged, turning away to teleport to the top of the stairs.

Goldy flew next to Z as he began climbing. Goldy warned, "Now that I remember, do _not_ talk to the Wither Skeletons unless they did to you. If you do otherwise, kiss your sorry bums goodbye." Goldy tensed as a stranger glanced their way.

 _I'll have no problem with that,_ Endocrine thought drily, wincing as the heat wave distorted her vision.

Goldy sped up to join Endocrine at the top. Goldy stretched as she settled onto the cobblestone, bored as Z hiked the uncomfortable stairs.

Goldy finished her stretching session when Z finally reached the end of the stairs. Goldy squeezed in one last stretch before she began speaking. "Now, before I can take you to our king, I will have to make you see."

Z's face painted an expression of alarm bells. "What do _tu_ mean by 'see'?"

Goldy muttered a spell, ignoring Z's question. Flames and golden sparks began to dance in her hands, causing the zombie to step back. She brought her hands up to her chin and then blew the magic towards Endocrine and Z.

Endocrine flinched, her headache worsening. The fortress began to shift as the ceiling cracked, although no debris were falling. The floor beneath them, nether bricks, began to multiply sideways, the fortress stretching and hurling throughout the transforming walls. The walls fell down, Netherracks melting together to form more nether bricks as it mended into place.

More Netherbricks flew from the ocean of lava, stacking themselves as more monsters appeared through spiraling flames. As the fortress continued to expand as flames danced over it, exterior designs emerged. Market booths plopped onto the new pathways as houses constructed among them.

Ghostly sea-like creatures of white, Ghasts, were everywhere in the sky, some of them having monsters and chests on their huge head. They seemed pretty pleased with objects on themselves while the rest of the ghasts seemed depressed for being bald. One of them flew over Endocrine's head, whipping more hot wind into her face.

Finally, in the middle of the growing city arose a great building with ancient sculptures of dragons craved into the castle. Lava poured from the windows and roof for dramatic effort, some running of the lava back into the sea below. Even from the distance, they could see the tiny and flattering details of stone, nether bricks, and quarts expertly dug into the gothic castle walls, surrounded by gardens of warts of many variations.

Statues of blazes, pigmen, and Wither Bosses were scattered around the kingdom, acting as if they were guarding the city. Some of the statues even had a lava fountain, such as a pigman "pouring" a bucket of lava into another bucket.

All of the details were not flattering to Endocrine's migraine.

"Oh." Z's jaw dropped.

"I see what they mean by watching visitor's faces," Goldy chuckled. Then she groaned, "Ugh, you endermen are so boring."

 _Well, excuse me for having a castle in the End and not having a voice!_ Endocrine sassed, massaging her forehead.

Goldy huffed, entering the capital city. Z looked at Endocrine before hurrying after the blaze morpher.

Endocrine took a glance towards a nearby statue. It was a statue of the Wither Boss, which looked down at her with three pairs of condemning eyes. The air shimmered as the Wither Boss seemed to lean forward.

Endocrine blinked, the statue popping back into its original state. She was unsure if the statue was going to turn alive and chase her away with explosions. Endocrine gave it a long look before teleporting away. She didn't want the statue to confirm her thoughts.

"Oh, there you are! I was afraid I've already misplaced you," Goldy sighed as Endocrine rejoined them.

"Say... how did _tu_ know Princess's real name?" Z asked.

"I thought I told you to keep your trap shut?" Goldy raised an eyebrow at him.

" _Oui..._ " Zoan muttered.

They walked in silence, moving around the bustling and gossiping Nether monsters.

"We have spies," Goldy sighed, stiff as she moved past the monsters. "Pigmen aren't useless and constantly fighting over gold pointlessly. We send troops of Pigmen out that will come back and report news from the Overworld."

"Doesn't Alex catches them?" Z asked, slipping through a pair of Wither skeletons.

Goldy shrugged. "The blazes casts a spell over the chosen pigmen. The moment they leave the Nether, they have exactly one day as a pig. They must hurry before the spell's over otherwise they'd transform back into pigmen. That way, we can control the amount of pigmen that dies out in the Overworld. The only creature that I know that kills pigs willingly is Alex.

"This tactic's the only safe way for the Nether to gain weekly news from the Overworld. The only cons is that they're more likely to be struck by lightning..." Goldy glanced at the grumpy human. "Oh, and Princess Endocrine, good job exploding half of the swamp away. You've really terrorized some pigs there."

Endocrine rolled her eye. _To hell with pigs._

Z grimaced. "Can we stop calling her Endocrine?"

"Can you stop being a zombie?" Goldy retorted.

" _Touche._ "

By now, the Wither boss statues were starting to unnerve Endocrine. They seemed to be positioned to glower directly at Endocrine's every movements. It was like it was sneering at the fact that Endermen hated eye contacts. Like it knew the deepest fears in Endocrine's soul, fears deeper than the ocean. Like they knew exactly what she's thinking about.

Or Endocrine's migraine wasn't helping her keeping reality straight. She shuddered, looking away from the statues and onto the floor.

The Nether monsters began to divert their attention towards Endocrine and Z, distressing the endermen even more. They began to murmur among themselves, their words ringing in Endocrine's skull: "The End Princess."

"It's been a while since we had an End Visitor."

"I heard if you stare long enough, they explode."

"That's a bunch of slime shit!"

 _I've heard that idiotic rumor before._

"Oh, look at that, I'm finally not the one getting the most attention," Goldy sighed in relief, beaming. "Don't you love how this kind of news travel fast?"

 _I hate it._ _Make it stop._ Endocrine folded her arms and slouched.

" _Tu_ aren't exactly a social minecart, aren't _tu_?" Z commented.

The Nether monsters continued gossiping, obvious to Endocrine's presence. Endocrine pursed her lips. _Why am I surrounded by idiots as usual?_

* * *

Goldy became more cheerful once they had left the plaza, chatting with Z and pointing out the history behind the statues. Endocrine grew sick of hearing about how "marvelous" their first Wither Boss was, ruling over the evergrowing Kingdom until Alex came and summoned him out of the castle. Now his soul is an everlasting light in the Overworld night, blah blah blah, insert sob story here that Endocrine doesn't care about.

Endocrine plopped down onto a bench, wanting a nap more than anything. Food wasn't even on her mind anymore. She was in constant pain. The thought of snuggling up next to a lava spa sounded like a dream. However, she knew that if she fell asleep, she might not even wake up again. But was that even a bad thing anymore?

"So, what are _les_ two heads on _les_ sides for again?" Z asked.

Endocrine glanced up, her eye feeling heavy. Z and Goldy were in front of a Wither Boss statue. The statue stared at Endocrine, looking like it was ready to attack at any moment as its spine twisted dramatically. Endocrine huffed, moving off the bench. _Stop looking at me, you idiot!_

"The heads on the sides are the King's counselors. They're able to separate from the King to check on the Kingdom. I suppose it's a good thing, because otherwise they'd make King Wird the Third go insane," Goldy explained, surveying the statues.

"Why are there so many statues of King Wird _le_ First?" Z crooked his head.

 _That's what I want to know!_ Endocrine wasn't sure if she just saw the statue's eyes moving towards her. She glowered at the Wither Boss statue, teleporting out of the statue's "eyesight."

"Legend has it that each statue holds the sons of the King Wird the First. You know what, why don't you ask King Wird the Third that question yourself?" Goldy moved away, beckoning the Overworld monsters to follow her.

"You're confusing, _tu_ tell us 'I have to take _tu_ to _le_ king!' and then _le_ next thing I know you're not? _Pourquoi?_ "

Goldy looked down at the path dotted with raw quartzes. "I don't exactly like the King's Knights..."

"Hey Goldeen!" A blaze called out, flying towards them.

"What?" Goldy snapped.

"Who's that?" Z whispered.

"Princess Endocrine and Zoan, meet my twice-removed uncle," she huffed.

"I'm Blai," the blaze greeted. "Anyways, Goldeen, you've better change back 'cause your father's coming this way. He's quite angry. He've been searching for you for fifteen Nether hours."

Goldy made a sound that sounded like a bark and curse, immediately morphing back into her blaze version.

Blai glared. "You'd better watch your language, young lady. Your father won't like that."

Goldy struck her brown tongue at him.

An elderly blaze drifted from around a corner. "Ah, Blaah, I've see you've found Goldeen... and two Overworld monsters?"

"It's a short 'a'," Blai grumbled.

"Do you really have the rods to sass your Elder?" Goldy's father rolled his eyes. "Before I hear anything else from your pitiful mouth, you are dismissed."

Blai cleared his throat, bowing his head. "Whatever suits your bed of coals. I'll go break up the search party." Then he flew away.

Goldy's father started straight at Goldy. "I would like a moment alone with my daughter."

"Stay here," Goldy told Endocrine and Z, glaring back at her father. Her father turned, flying away as he yanked Goldy with him by some invisible force.

Endocrine checked on Z. He seemed to be falling back into his depressed self, his expression dulling. Endocrine looked away, staring at a falling lava. They stood there in awkward silence, listening to the sizzling lava and the growing volume of blazes yelling.

"Why can't I have control over my life anymore?!" Goldy screamed. "Yeah, yeah a 'better future'! Yeah, why not scare all of my friends away?! You framed them, set them up, and now my family is afraid of me because they're scared that I'm some short of a curse! You call that a better future?!"

"At least they won't lay a eyelash on your weak body, dammit!"

Z cringed, trudging over to a bench, whining: "Why are they so loud?"

"Oh, so does that gives you the right to slap me, your 'precious' daughter, whenever you want?! Just get out of my life, I'm an adult, for Void's sake! Go get eaten by a ghast! That'd make the world-"

"You know I can't leave you alone! Without my magic to keep you alive, we both know what'll happen to you!"

Endocrine rubbed her forehead, glaring at another Wither statue which was somehow watching her instead of Z. _At least I didn't have a father along with my idiotic mother the dragon. And would you keep your stupid eyes to yourself, you dumb statues._

"At least I'd be better off dead! Like my mother!" Goldy spat.

"Dead? You're lucky that I decided to keep you alive and now you're going to serve a great role to the family by marrying the richest suitor!"

"Now you dare to bring that up?! Ugh, I had enough of you, _father_!"

"Do not fly away from me, get back here right now-!"

Two miniature explosions sounded and then a deep silence. Endocrine teleported a few blocks closer to Z, while the said zombie had fallen off his bench.

Goldy hurled back into sight, her rods duller and red tears straining her scratched left cheek. "Let's go before my father could catch me," she snarled.

"Uh, I think _le_ whole Nether heard your argument." Z winced.

"It happened before," Goldy grumbled, storming up a cloud of smoke throughout her body as she flew by.

"Oh." Z pushed himself off the floor to dash over to Goldy.

 _Will life always be this strange?_ Endocrine pondered as she did her best to ignore Goldy's drying blood.

* * *

Goldy finally brought her guests to the entrance of the Nether castle. Magma stones were framing the gardens of warts, giving it an eerie, golden glow.

"I've heard the Overworld has many plants," Goldy sighed, staring longingly at the warts.

Z shrugged. "They get boring."

Goldy scoffed. "Liar. I've dream of seeing the flowers everyday."

One moment, Endocrine was walking behind the two conversing monsters. Then the next: she staggered. Her vision had suddenly turned blurry; her brain felt like it was growing as she stumbled. She stomped sharply, her sight returning as ringing filled her ears.

She found Goldy and Z looking at her in concern. She waved them off. _I'm fine, idiots. I just need to walk it off..._

"Then stop being so dramatic if you don't want a hand," Goldy growled.

Z took a deep breath. "Uh, Goldy? Since we're talking about helping... It's been bothering _moi_ but I believe there's blood on your cheek?" Z rubbed the back of his neck.

"What?" Goldy looked at him, shocked. The dried blood moved from her cheek to one of her rods. "I'm getting weaker everyday..."

"Why?" Z shoved his gloved hands into his pockets.

"I don't know. It could be magic that's killing me? That's stupid, so it can't be..."

 _Of course magic can kill._ Endocrine dully raised her eyebrow. _But can it kill its owner?_

"Yeah..." Z glanced at the floor.

Endocrine waved for Goldy's attention.

"What?" Goldy snapped.

 _Can't you kill your own father if he's hurting you?_ Endocrine pointed to the blaze, drew an invisible line over her neck, and then scowled, placing a hand on her hip and the other hand scolding.

"Kill who... kill my own father?" Goldy groaned. "I can't, I can't kill him. I won't be able to live with the conscience of killing my own father. It's bad enough that I avoided the death my mother claimed, but killing Father?"

Goldy laughed, nervously looking around. "I'm took weak. I know that and he knows that. Besides, the moment he dies, his magic over me will be broken, yes, but then I'll die too. And I don't know how seriously the Overworld and End takes killing into consideration, but it's a death sentence to kill a Nether civilian. Or even to _try_ killing."

Endocrine frowned. _You Nether Monsters overrate death too much. I've killed enough monsters to last me a hundred of life times._

Goldy sighed. "Whatever. Let's go." She started to move towards the castle.

"Wait," Z spoke up, "If _tu_ need us to help _tu_... Don't hesitate to ask."

Goldy halted, staring at the rows of growing warts. "I don't need help. And besides, you should really learn to stop poking your nose into monsters' business. It's rude. Now, come."

Goldy led the duos throughout the large garden of warts and over the Netherbricks stairs. The blaze hesitated when she saw two Wither Skeletons guarding the doors of the palace.

"Aw, look, the little's chick here," the right Wither skeleton sneered.

"Hello, ugly cow," Goldy mocked. "I need you to take these guests to the king."

"Visitors, eh?" the left skeleton nodded.

"Obviously." Goldy rolled her eyes. She turned to Endocrine. "I'll be back to check up on you two. Our king isn't much of a leisure to be around."

And with that, Goldy flew away at a faster speed than Endocrine had ever seen her flown before.

The Wither Skeletons studied the sweating zombie and the dry-skinned human. The one on the left coughed, taking a step forward. "Right. Follow me, will you, mates?"

The left Wither skeleton pushed the great doors open, stepping aside so Endocrine and Z could pass through.

The interior of the castle was mostly filled with empty spaces, occasionally decorated with paintings or modest furniture. The windows were held together with thick frames like it was afraid that explosions from the blazes and ghasts would break the fragile glass. All of the open, empty spaces gave the castle a colder feeling than the ones outside. And the sense that someone could hold a race inside the castle without a fear of knocking over furniture.

The Wither skeleton guided them through the castle; the monsters' footsteps echoing through the halls. Endocrine's vision grew blurry as the details of the walls merged together into shapes and colours. She couldn't think through the pain and the haze in her mind.

"Stay here. I will announce to King Wird the Third of your presence," The skeleton ordered as they approached another set of doors. He drily chuckled as he slipped through the narrow opening of the door. "Or if you wander off, you could get lost or pulled apart like pork chops. Have fun."

Then the Wither skeleton clicked the door shut.

Suddenly, stars crowded Endocrine's vision, casting a shadow over the world. Her ears began to ring as her heartbeat spurred; she clutched onto Z's shoulder before she could lose her balance.

"What _les_ hell, I didn't move-" Z froze when he saw Endocrine rubbing her forehead and shaking her head.

 _I can't see!_ Endocrine gasped, unsure whether or not she was standing. It was difficult to breathe. All of the stress, running, and fighting certainly pulled a toll on her hunger bar and now her health bar was paying for it...

Endocrine blinked, her vision slowly returning as the colours crept back into sight. She remained motionless for a few moments but then Endocrine realized that she was clinging onto a terrified monster.

 _Idiot!_ Endocrine flinched, her hand darting off Z's shoulder like he was made out of water.

"Don't do that again," Z imploded.

Endocrine dragged a line across her neck, and then pointed at him. Z nodded, slowly inching away from Endocrine. He pulled out and twirled his pickaxe as he bit his lips and descended into his own thoughts.

The two monsters waited in painful silence until the doorknobs shifted.

Endocrine pretended as nothing interesting had happened as the Wither Skeletons opened the doors wide. Lights poured onto them, the pillars of fire dancing merrily for the king. Paintings and windows decorated the high walls, the former's original colours had a shade of yellow and orange from the fires. Standing by were Pigmen and Blazes, glancing at Endocrine and Z with bored expressions. The pigmen had their hands full of feathers or they were rolling the scrolls, while the Blazes guarded the windows... or the paintings.

Leading to the back center of the room laid a maroon carpet with gold accents, complimenting the golden throne which sat on layers of stairs. And lazily sitting on the throne was a royal ghost, his cloak draped to one side as he leaned onto a hand. He stared at Endocrine with the same, judgmental looks of the statues outside.

"I welcome you to my kingdom Princess Endocrine, daughter of the late Third End Queen, Drelizabeth, whom was a good friend of my father and the father before: King Wird the First and Second," his voice rumbled.

* * *

 **Author's Note: … And here enters Goldy, the co-narrator of the Nether!**

 **And I'm sorry for the long chapter, I didn't want to split it. I couldn't find a good place to split it without ending this prematurely or late (And, of course, I wanted a cliff hanger lol). Hopefully, this extra long chapter makes up for the absent updates. ^^'**

 **I'm not really happy about the fact that McM Won't be finished in July... but it looks like it had extended to September with the way the chapters is going. There are probably two more chapters that needs a split. I already had to crop out another part from this onto the next chapter.**

 _ **Endertainment!**_

 _Why are Endermen and Blazes constantly fighting?_

 _Because one doesn't know when to **end** the debate and the other sends the discussion **blazing**!_

 **~Rosie**


	11. The King's Walk

Goldy slipped past the walls of the Nether Fortress, lowering to the lava as her heart hammered. She wasn't allowed to leave the kingdom's fortress without her father's permission, even though her father's boundary line extended beyond that. There was just something about exciting about being rebellious. A sense of freedom, a thrilling façade performed behind her father's back.

Her golden blaze body helped her to blend in with the churning lava as she silently shot over it. The lava didn't do much, other than bubble, glow, and act like an heavier version of the aquatic ocean. The heat breezed around Goldy, but the searing temperature didn't bother the blaze at all. Blazes were adapted for the extreme heats of the Nether, similar to how Endermen felt more comfortable in the colder climate of the End.

After flying over the lava for five minutes or so, she approached the end of the lava sea. There were a large overhanging cave with a small tunnel leading out of the Kingdom's territory. Goldy settled onto the shore, looking over her shoulders to see if anybody were around. Nothing but a small magma cube napping by the lava.

Goldy transformed into her human form, her shoes pressing firm against the netherracks. She stretched her arms towards the ceiling, looking at the bloodstain on the back of her hand. Goldy sighed, using the same hand to touch the scratch on her cheek. "Stupid father..."

Goldy growled as she shook her head, looking towards the wall. She paused, seeing the wall shiver with magic. Only she and her father could see the magic because she was under his spell.

She held her breath as she approached the magic. When she was close enough, she hesitated before reaching an arm out. She was testing her father's magical boundary. The pearl on her forehead started to glow in warning. Suddenly, it flashed, making a cracking sound that the fires makes as it breaks apart the fuel.

Goldy's hand darted back to her body as she hissed and fell. She crouched, panting as she held her burning hand to her body. Yup, the boundary of her father's magic was still there and unchanging.

Her body shook as she pushed herself back up. Goldy squeezed her eyes shut until her tense muscles had relaxed and regained control. "Dammit, I'm getting weaker..." she sighed.

When her pain had fully subsided, Goldy turned and walked over to the middle of the shore. She stared at the wall for a while. Her hand darted as she summoned and threw three fireballs. The fire ball flew towards the wall, causing a section to collapse.

The magma cube jolted awake as an explosion sounded. The magma cube looked towards a the settling ashes which revealed a new small cave. It glared at the blaze and then huffed as it bounced away and up the tunnel. Goldy watched it leave. It won't go and tattle to anyone about Goldy's location. That's the best things about slimes since they're secretive monsters.

Goldy checked her surroundings again. With a nod, she hurried into the cave, picked up the broken netherracks into her inventory, and finally: repaired the wall.

Once the entrance was sealed, Goldy smoothened her dress. She turned to survey the concealed cave room. The cave was small but roomy. The lighting from the lava in the corner revealed ashes hovering and settling. Goldy sneezed. It's been forever since anyone had been in it. Or cleaned it. Sighing, Goldy summoned a rag and wiped the place down.

* * *

Finally, the cave was clean from the ashes, Goldy took a deep breath and looked at her dirty rag. The rag was completely covered in ashes and left several marks on her clothes and skin. Her father would had a fit if he saw her.

Goldy walked over by to the lava pool and started beating the rag against the wall, releasing the ashes to the lava. And then she did her best to shake the ashes from her hair and clothes. She removed enough to make it seem like the Nether's air needs to be filtered, since ashes were a constant problem for the monsters breathe in.

Suddenly, the netherrack entrance cracked, warning Goldy that someone was trying to get in. The tanned human leaned against the wall near the lava, her hand out. She was ready to cast defensive magic as the wall continued to break, and Goldy wasn't in any mood to be caught. However, Goldy relaxed once she saw Sliver's head peek through the wall.

"Hey Gold," he greeted, poking his hooded head through the small hole. He looked around the cave. "I told you I'd be around."

"Took you a while to follow me," the blaze teased with a huff, stepping away from the wall.

"That's because you're fast." Sliver continued digging the two lower blocks apart, working like someone was coming to murder him. After a few moments he was able to get in. He jumped inside the cave and then started piling the netherracks back. Goldy hurried by his side to help him seal off the entrance.

"Wow, this place is a lot smaller than I remembered it used to be," he commented, looking around as he placed the last rock into place. He stood up, touching the ceiling for extra emphasis.

Goldy rolled her eyes, walking backwards towards the lava. "That's because you're so _taaaaall,_ you stupid skeleton."

Sliver shrugged, chuckling. "What can I say? It's genetics."

"That you're stupid?" Goldy raised an eyebrow.

"No. It's my genetics that's stupid."

Goldy sarcastically laughed as she sat down cross-legged next to the lava.

"So, why do you have dry blood on your face?" Sliver gathered his cloak to one side and sat down next to Goldy.

"Father's a lot worse." Goldy shrugged, closing her eyes.

"A lot worse?" Sliver looked at her face. "Fill me in, the travelers and spies never give me enough information."

Goldy sighed, glaring at the wall in front of her. "You know how father used to frighten me every time he walks into the room and started yelling at us? He's gotten worse when mother fell sick to an incurable sickness. I caught it too, but... mother died before my father could save her. I'm still here because Father uses his magic to hold back the sickness."

Goldy bit her lips. "And now I fear he uses magic to blackmail me. To keep me from becoming independent and leaving him."

Sliver sighed, looking away. "Does he physically hurts you?"

"Whenever he's angry and when I 'don't act perfect'," Goldy confirmed.

"That's..." Sliver shook his head, his jawbones stiff. "Messed up."

She scoffed, leaning towards the lava to put her hands in it. "I think you'd understand, considering your parents disclaimed you."

Sliver huffed. "That's different. I've always been an outcast to them. They didn't even bother to see me leave, remember?"

They fell silent, listening to the lava pop and swish as Goldy made circles in it.

The Wither-Stray cleared his voice. "So, do you still dream about seeing the flowers?"

Goldy pulled her hand out of the lava, a shy smile plastered on her face as she looked away. "Yeah, you don't think I'm silly, do you?"

"Not as silly as the games we'd used to play as little kids." Sliver crooked his head, seeming to grin at her within his hood.

Goldy gasped, "You still remember?"

Sliver leaned back with his hands behind his head. "How could I forget? We used to play Princesses and Dragons all the time."

Goldy smirked at her hands. "Or Knights and Dragons?"

Sliver clicked as he nodded. "Exactly."

"Ah, the golden times of our childhood." Goldy sighed longingly.

"Did you just make a pun on your own name?" Sliver snorted.

"Maaaaaaaaaaybe." Goldy grinned, turning to look at him. "Hey Sliv, do you still want to become a knight?"

Sliver removed his hands from his head to press them against the floor as he leaned towards the lava. He flinched as the lava popped. "It would be nice, Gold. But honestly, I don't think the Wither Skeletons would welcome me back if they were the same as before. I mean as if the new king's anything like the kings before him."

"Why not?!" Goldy demanded, "You're still totally perfect for the job; you're totally better than the generals we have! You used to dream about it all the time. You wanted to show every monster just because you have a bit of an issue with your appearance doesn't mean it affects your ability to fight! They're just being jerks!"

"Goldy, no matter how much you encourage it, we both know that one of our dreams won't come true," Sliver sighed, gripping the netherrack floor.

"Don't say that!" Goldy growled.

"No matter how much we try, nothing would change for me, Gold. But it will for you." Sliver stood up, his cape falling back behind his spine as he played with his gauntlets. "Can I use my cloak to clean the blood off you, please? It's really bothering me."

Goldy took a deep breath. She half-smiled, her shrug limp. "I guess."

Sliver got down on one knee, holding his cloak with his right hand. He hesitated as his right hand neared her face, but then he went ahead and wiped the dry blood off her.

This time, his face leaned close to look at her cheek. "Is that better?"

Goldy blinked. " _Si_. Thanks."

Sliver moved away. Goldy touched her cheek, surprised as she discovered that her scratch had vanished.

Sliver nodded, seeming pleased with himself as he stood back up. "Excellent." He turned to walk away. He took a few steps, but then he paused. "Gold?"

"Sliv?" Goldy stood up, trying to brush the ashes off her dress.

"What if I told you that I... That I could take you to your dream?" Sliver turned to look at Goldy.

Goldy startled, her eyes wide. "Are you delusional? I can't leave the Nether, Sliver."

"But now I have a way, Goldy! You won't be held back anymore if you run away with me." Sliver urged.

"I-I can't!" Goldy took a few steps towards Sliver. "I can't, Sliver, I can't! My life needs to stay within the aura of my father's magic or I'll die!"

"But you'll die anyways," Sliver pleaded, "You'll die whether it'll be in the Nether or in the Overworld. What would happen if your guardian gets slain? What then? But if you run away with me, we could at least achieve one of our dreams."

Goldy pursed her lips, her eyebrows scrunched together in conflict.

"I came here because I knew I was dying. I can't come back again, Goldy," Sliver sighed, playing with his cloak. "I'm dying even faster as the hours pass. You were the only thing that allowed me to push to stay alive this far."

"Sliver!" Goldy spat, her fists clenched. "Enough with this talk of death! No one's dying any time soon!"

Sliver shook his head. "I can feel it. I'm going to die soon. But I want to see you happy, Gold. You're obviously not happy here, Gold. You deserve to have your dream come true."

Goldy heaved, her head hanging as her shoulders trembled. "I can't leave."

Sliver took his cloak off with a sigh. "If you insist."

Goldy watched him fold his cloak with a puzzled expression on her face.

Sliver placed it down on the floor. "If something did happen..." he moved towards the exit. "I want your dream coming true, Gold. It's too late for me, so I'm rooting for you."

Sliver began breaking down the netherrack wall. Goldy watched him in silence, controlling her breathing.

Once he climbed out of the cave, he looked back at her. "I'd kiss your hand if I had lips like those zombies would do. I'll see you around, Goldy, but just in case... farewell. You're a wonderful friend."

And with that, he left.

Goldy swallowed, rubbing her neck as she looked at the neatly folded cape on the floor of their childhood memories. "If I had tear ducts... I'd be crying, Sliv..."

* * *

King Wird the Third continued to stare at the visitors.

"Uh, _bonjour?"_ Z waved, meek as he stepped inside the throne room.

Endocrine rolled her eye, following the zombie. _Really? That's all you mustered up?_

"Hello," King Wird raised an eyebrow.

They continued to wait in silence as some of the king's servants continued to roll up their scrolls. Endocrine took this as a moment to regain her focus. Might as well meet the king if she came this far, right?

The Wither king's dark armour complimented the dark red surroundings, although his white hair and surpisingly pale skin stood out against the dark surroundings. His red eyes stared lazily back at him while his maroon cloak dragged around his shoulders. But unlike the Wither Boss statues outside...

"Don't _tu_ have three heads?" Z frowned, squinting at the king as he and Endocrine continued to move through the throne room. The king had only one head, which was placed on the middle of his shoulders.

"Wait for it..." King Wird muttered, raising a hand.

Like on cue, a blue Wither Skeleton head flew into the room. "Are you slacking off again?!" it screamed. Endocrine and Z flinched as it flew over their heads.

The black version drifted in, following the blue head. "Whoa, chill, mate. It's been five minutes."

"They're my eyes and counselors." King Wird bitterly smiled as the blue head started shoving him into proper position.

"I do all of the hard work, you should at least put some effort into it, you lazy bones!" the blue head screeched, butting the king's back to straighten him.

"You're giving King Wird and every monster else a headache," the black head moaned as it floated next to King Wird's golden chair.

 _Yeah._ Endocrine rubbed her temples, staring at the carpet as she and Z stopped walking.

"It's King Wird the Third!" the blue head scolded the black head.

"I hate my life," Wird grumbled, slouching into his seat.

"And kings don't slouch!" The blue head returned to butting the king.

Z snickered to himself as Endocrine's migraine progressed to get worse.

"Let us give him a break," the black head pleaded, "You're embarrassing him in front of Princess-"

"Princess?!" The blue head shrieked, whipping around to gawk at Endocrine and King Wird. "King Wird the Third! Your castle is not in a proper position for an End queen-to-be! There are floors to polish! Paintings to replace! Servants to bustle!"

 _Shut up,_ Endocrine groaned mentally as she grimaced. _I don't want to be queen._

"Let's go," the black head forced the shrieking blue head out of the throne room.

"Dishes to burn! Banners to iron! Rooms to sweep! Relics to furnish! Chickens to pluck!" The blue head continued to wail as they flew away. The Wither skeletons knights quickly closed the doors after them.

"Sorry 'bout that," King Wird sighed, melting like butter in his chair.

"I like your advisors," Z sniggered.

"They're my grandfather's." King Wird pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alex killed him and my father, so now they're passed on to me." He sighed, standing up to stretch. "Normally, I have to send the princesses to a servant for a 'traditional' tour. But I've been sitting for hours, I need a break."

Z folded his arms, crooking his head. "Won't your heads freak out?"

King Wird huffed, shaking his head as he moved down the short stairs. "They'll handle themselves."

"Why are _tu_ pale if you're a Wither Boss?" Z crooked his head to the other direction.

"Why are you a zombie?" Wird shot back, stretching his arms as he neared.

"Why aren't _tu_ a Wither Boss if there's _non_ statues of humans outside?" Z countered.

Wird gave him the stink eye.

"I'm speaking for Princess!" Z defended himself.

 _No you aren't._ Endocrine rubbed her forehead, shooting daggers at him from the corner of her eye. _I'm going to end you when my headache goes away if you keep making idiotic questions._

King Wird stopped walking a few blocks away, looking at Z's disheveled and bloody appearance, which resulted from G.P.'s death and Sliver's slowness arrows. But when he glanced Endocrine, her hair was dirty and fizzy with some of her magic dimming.

He touched a lock of her hair. Endocrine jerked away, feeling... threatened?

"Calm down. Even when the dragon's gone, the treaty still stands." Wird rubbed the dirt off his gloves. "You're lucky Screamer didn't notice your dirt and scoot-covered hair or he'd be doing flips. He's the blue one, by the way."

King Wird bowed his head. "Anyways, thank you for holding your side of the treaty."

Endocrine nodded once, self conscious as she ran a hand through her messy hair.

"Shall we begin the tour?" King Wird held his arm out.

Endocrine eyed the arm, but then stalked towards the doors. The Wither Skeletons scrambled to open the doors for her as she rapidly approached.

The king narrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he straightened to regained his posture.

"Princess does not like monsters touching her," Z spoke up smugly, leaning towards King Wird.

King Wird scowled, walking away from Z. "Shut up."

* * *

"So, I'm going to assume that you two are tired," Wird said as they finally finished the tour of his castle.

Endocrine played with her freshly brushed hair. All of the grime were removed when a pigman fussed over her hair, but now it was even more fizzer due to her natural curly state. Why did that pigmen had to use a brush? Just why?

" _Oui-"_

"Too bad, Nether Monsters never tire, so we don't carry around beds _._ Plus, they explode."

 _Liar,_ Endocrine rolled her eye as she attempted to smooth down her hair. _You guys hibernate like some ancient dragons. I've read about it in a history book._

"The Nether Monsters explodes the beds, they don't suddenly catch on fire," Z grumbled, his mood dampening.

"Eh. Let's keep moving before Screamer and Dynamite finds us." Wird turned, walking down another hallway filled with windows.

"King Wird?" Z asked, following the King.

"Aye?" Wird sighed, placing his relaxed hands behind his back.

"I've been wondering why are there so many statues of King Wird _le_ First?" Z questioned.

"Well," King Wird began as he peered through a window. "Each statue represents a soul of each Wither Bosses. And according to the reporting of the citizens, every time Alex summons one of us to her by building a mimicking statue, a stone statue would fall apart. However, Alex had only summoned twice and two statues fell, we are unsure whether or not it is coincidental or an actual magical property of the Void."

"Does that makes you a ghost?" Z interrupted.

King Wird hesitated, glancing at Endocrine over his shoulder. "Aye."

"And you're a transformer."

Endocrine flinched as King Wird clapped. "Bravo! The dumb zombie figured it out!"

"I'm not dumb!" Z hissed, folding his arms.

"Well then, stop making obvious statements." King Wird raised an eyebrow, stepping away from the window.

Endocrine's stomach growled, interrupting the brief argument. Endocrine grimaced as King Wird and Z looked at her. _What?_

"When did you last eat?" King Wird demanded, taking a small step away from her.

 _That doesn't matter._ Endocrine shrugged, pursing her lips. _My hunger bar fell rapidly as I took too many damage for the past few days. Might as well say I hadn't eaten for two weeks._

King Wird groaned, playing with his cloak. "I'm afraid we don't have anything because we had used up the chorus fruit for our experiments. I knew we should had kept some on hand, but Dynamite said we'll have another End trade happening soon. Except that was before we caught word that Queen Drelizabeth had died."

"Who's Dynamite again?" Z kept an eye on Endocrine like he was expecting her to fall over again.

"He's the black, calmer head," Wird explained with a sigh. "How long do you think you'll have, Princess Endocrine?"

 _Not long. Now can you two keep quiet for five measly mintues?_ Endocrine rubbed her forehead as she shrugged again, staring at the floor.

Wird hissed, his eyes darting around the hallways as he tugged his cloak.

"Uh, are _tu_ alright, King Wird?" Z made circles on the floor with his feet, his eyes flickering between Endocrine and King Wird.

"No!" King Wird barked, letting go of his cape. Endocrine flinched from his explosion, her brain throbbing through the noise.

The king sighed. "Just... leave me alone for a second. Bother someone else with questions. Clean the blood off you. I need to talk with Princess Endocrine alone."

Z swallowed, keeping his eyes low. "Alright." He walked away briskly.

"Come, abide with me." King Wird beckoned with his hand, walking in the opposite direction of Z. Endocrine folded her arms before following him, the details around her blurring once again.

"So, it seems the End did not accept your proposal of being queen." King Wird slowed down a bit, looking over his shoulder.

Endocrine rolled her eye. _I never wanted to become queen._

"It's a shame, really." King Wird turned his attention towards the path. "Your mother and my grandfather used to send each other letters. Queen Drelizabeth wrote that you were the best candidate for the throne because of your... history, to put it simply."

 _Huh._ As Endocrine's migraine started to take over again, she was having a difficulty catching onto everything King Wird was telling her.

"I can't keep... here forever, you know. As... minute pass, you grow into a bigger threat." King Wird pulled a door open to the balcony. "But I'm aware... I might be as well sending... to your death bed if you leave."

King Wird stepped aside to let Endocrine through. The colours started to blur as Endocrine walked over to a railing to hold on. She could see her magic that constantly surrounds her blinked as she leaned onto the Netherbrick fence railing. She still was having a hard time listening to King Wird.

"I doubt... End Army would give... chorus fruit before killing..." King Wird stood next to Endocrine, looking down at his kingdom. "They'll behead... moment you leave... portal, if not shortly. But Queen Drelizabeth... you... powerful fighter, ... more... dying. But... End Army could change... mind... spare you, allowing... become... next End Queen. It's... gamble, ...honest."

Endocrine couldn't understand him anymore, it was like he was talking in another language now. Her ears started to ring as she struggled to focus onto a single building in the kingdom.

Endocrione knew that when she loses sense of reality, it reduces her chance of survival. Her chances will be odder if she fell asleep. She must regain her senses before it grew too late...

"It's a shame that you princesses have to kill each other until the final one becomes queen-" King Wird cut off as Endocrine lost her strength and slipped. King Wird cursed as he grabbed her arm before she could topple over the railing.

"Time's up already?" King Wird set her down onto the floor. Endocrine could barely holding her head up as she tried to sit up solo.

"Damn it. Don't you dare move or I will have your head." He ran back inside, calling for his servants.

Endocrine grabbed the fence and pulled herself towards it, trying to regain the strength to stand. She couldn't, so she pressed her forehead against the fence, shaking her head as if she could shake away the pain. Her feet ached while her legs were tingling, which sent lightning bolts running throughout her body. She could feel her strength in her arms slipping with each shock.

Everything was a hazy mess around her as her vision disappeared and sounds continued to scream and ring into her brain. Endocrine pressed her face harder against the fence, urging her vision to stay with her. Why was it also so loud?

A bitter bile rose in her throat as she writhed, a metallic taste following shortly. Her hunger bar was empty, and Endocrine couldn't do anything to stop her health bar from plummeting.

Despite dying, something became very clear to her. Endocrine could see her own magic, which was flickering like violet dying embers. Beyond her own magic were the neon red and golden auras, which Endocrine managed to register as the warm magic of the Nether.

Endocrine's head slammed onto the ground, all strength gone, falling into deep sleep as the pain became overwhelming to carry.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** **There was originally going to be a fight scene in this chapter, but I had to cut it out onto the next chapter. Even then, the next chapter's just as long as (or longer than) this!**

 **And here ends the first notebook! (I have 3 in total. It helped me to find plot holes, make the first two edits/read-throughs, and connect the foreshadowing together. And the next part is getting it typed down onto the computer and editing it even more. Each typing session takes about two hours if I'm not too picky. The longest is editing even more and checking for confusions, which takes a long time since I have to take breaks or I get burned out.)**

 _ **Endertainment!**_

 _What does Endermen and Wither Skeletons have in common?_

 _They're **tall, dark,** and handsome **.**_

 **~Rosie**


	12. Fighting with Teeth and Bones (PT 1)

**PART 1**

* * *

Goldy's rods twirled aggressively as she returned to the fortress. She muttered hateful words to herself, Sliver's voice echoing in her brain.

" _It's too late for me. I'm dying."_

Goldy sucked in the air, nearly blasting a pigman apart as it enjoyed its private conversation with another pigman. Catching herself lusting after the sinful action, she forced herself to take deep breaths, like an elderly monster had taught her to maintain her "anger". Next, she removed herself from the _obnoxious_ and _triggering_ noises before she would actually tear the pigmen apart.

"Why's life so unfair?" Goldy grumbled, glowering at the netherbrick floor beneath her. "Why does life burdened us with so much that it's impossible to grow but to shrink?"

Goldy continued to mutter, her heart growing heavier as each seconds passed. Feeling another set of eyes on her, she stopped flying and whipped her head towards the two blazes staring at her. "What? Not like I can't talk to myself, huh?! Huh?!" Goldy snapped.

"Whoa, you need to take a lava spa," the blaze on the left whistled, rolling its eyes as it returned back to conversing with their friend.

Goldy growled, taking off at a faster speed with a storm of smoke following her.

"Ugh, I can't just fly around, doing nothing. I need to make myself useful." Goldy headed for the castle, flying over some of the wandering monsters. "Where's the Overworld monsters? I'm pretty sure that zombie would have more questions to ask. It'd be good distractions."

She ignored angry comments tossed at her for speeding over the Nether monsters' heads. She ignored the nearby gossips from her ex-friends. Not like they're her friends anymore. Some of the monsters were rude, but at the moment, Goldy will let them continue all they want. After all, she's nothing a _precious_ little bride, isn't she? Not like she can't do _anything_ about it, _right?_

She floated over the stairs, keeping her eyes straightforward. Goldy slowed down as she saw some knights, but she slipped by them nonetheless. The castle was always open for the Nether Monsters, a symbolism of "Safe at Home," but Goldy was still nervous around the other monsters. It's a shame that symbolisms can be corrupted overtime...

Goldy took a deep breath, beginning her hunt for the Overworld monsters as she hurried her way across the castle.

She looked around as the glided in the hallways, listening for the sounds of chatter. If there were conversation, then there would be some servants who knew where the Overworld monsters were. And if they didn't, she can simply move on, hopefully without any drama.

As Goldy approached another hallway, she heard a murmur of voices. Goldy looked up, heading directly towards the noise.

But Goldy froze when she saw a Wither Skeleton general chatting with a knight. She darted into another room straightaway, which was labeled "The Ballroom". She took a deep breath as she closed the door behind her, yet cringing as the door made a clicking sound.

Now there was only one thing left to do, which was to hope. Goldy backed away from the door slowly, staring.

But Goldy's hope had failed as the Wither Skeleton general approached, opening the door. She turned to run, but there weren't any other exits. Well, she could fly through a window, but she didn't want to get her father furious for breaking a castle property. Again. Goldy cussed.

The Wither Skeleton general sneered, "Hey buttercups." Closing the door behind him, the skeleton started walking towards Goldy.

"What do you want?" She scowled, backing away to keep the distance between them equal.

"Aww, don't be angry with me, I just want to talk." The Wither skeleton quickened his steps, opening his arms like he wanted a hug.

"I'd rather not talk with you, Cid," Goldy spat, hastening backwards.

"Too bad." the Wither Skeleton, Cid, smirked as Goldy knocked a stone pot down. The noise caused her to halt in panic as she glanced at the broken shards. Cid used the opportunity of Goldy's hesitation to snatch one of her rods.

Goldy struggled, straining against his grip. She couldn't leave her rod behind, it was a part of her. She pulled, and pulled, and pulled, but he wouldn't release her.

"Ugh, why won't you let me go?" Goldy growled as she gave up.

Cid scoffed, half-apologizing: "I thought you were a trespasser."

"I have enough of you!" Goldy huffed, shoving Cid. "Now would you let me go please before I complain about you to my father?"

"Your papa won't care." Cid pushed her back onto a wall. "As of the moment, I'm currently the highest bidder _and_ the highest rank. Clearly, he's going to let me have you."

Goldy fumed, her freed yet helpless blaze rods drifting around her. "Well, I don't want _you!_ Be gone!" Goldy summoned her fireballs, throwing it against Cid. But since her magic was weak, it didn't inflict a lot of damage. No one had really bothered to teach her how to strengthen her spells.

Cid growled, keeping his hold on one of her rod. "Why won't you make it easier for both of us by simply asking your father to marry the Great General Cider? All of this competition's getting too long for my liking."

"I said I don't want you! I don't want to be treated like a sealed diamond, and I don't want to marry a bastard like you! So get a hint and leave me alone!" Goldy spat in his face.

Cid's hollow eyes furrowed as he gritted his teeth, his hold tightening. "Fine." He let her go, wiping the dry spit off his cheekbone.

Goldy blinked, stunned. But Goldy didn't take any chances as she turned, making a run for safety. However, Cid snatched another one of her rod and threw her against the wall. He chuckled as Goldy hissed.

Cid grabbed a different rod. "They say that the blaze rods holds the power of the great and ancient Void, the greatest god of them all. Because of the properties, it was so powerful that only a glass stick could hold them." Cid twirled the trapped rod between his hands. Goldy couldn't escape. It would be futile to even try.

"They say that the properties allowed the flaming monster to hold itself together, to fly, and to cast spells. They were also created to protect the most powerful magic, correct?" Cid crooked his head like an idea had struck him. "Say, what would happen if somebody _accidentally_ snapped one rod in half?"

Without hesitation, Cid forced the rod to bend. Goldy suffocated her scream as she bit her lips and squeezed her eyes shut. She refused to give him the satisfaction. If she let out a sound, then _he's_ the one in control.

Her rod began to crack, the sound grinding to the blaze's ears. Goldy could sense a sharp pressure dancing up her concealed right arm. Even in her blaze form, her other forms were connected to take in the same level of pain and change.

And every time her rod snapped and twisted, her pain intensified.

Stars began to dance behind her closed eyelids. Goldy refused to let out a sound as she held her breath and waited. Waited for the awful and agonizing sound of her rod snapping into two. But Cid was watching her closely, slowing as the seconds passed. Waiting for her to break.

Finally, the rod broke into two, the golden dust yawning into coals as it poured out between Cid's hands. Goldy's nerves screamed, forcing her to take a strangled gasp. She had lost this battle.

"Hey!"

An arrow shot into Cid's ribcage, startling him. The next thing Cid knew, Sliver had ran from the door to chuck him away from the blaze. Cid dropped Goldy's rods as he flew, the broken black rod spinning towards Goldy like a magnet.

Goldy collapsed, her rods falling with her like ornaments as it clattered onto the floor.

"You dare hurt a defenseless monster?!" Sliver roared, putting himself between Goldy and Cid.

"Defenseless?" Cid sneered, slowly pushing himself up as he yanked the arrow out of his ribcage. "She's a blaze!"

"And you're a general! What kind of general are you that hurts citizen?" Sliver stomped his feet, furious.

Cid chuckled, his spine straightening. "You're out of the times, stupid freak. This is the world that we live in now. Everyone is out to hurt each other, whether that be verbal or physical. The best thing we can do is to take advantage of everything that's offered."

Sliver growled, his fists shaking. "That is not the world I desire to live in."

"Well, too bad!" Cid swooped his arms. "The world doesn't care for you! The world has never cared! Your ugly grey bones are the very proof, no wonder your parents abandoned you-"

Sliver sprang towards Cid, tackling him. Cid's skull cracked as it crashed onto the floor. The two Wither skeletons began to wrestle, landing punches.

"Heh, I never expected you to be alive today!" Cid sneered as he rolled on top of Sliver. He pulled Sliver's arm out of his shoulder, a loud pop echoing through the room. He threw it across the room, but the arm came flying back to Sliver's arm socket.

"I didn't expect you to still be alive either!" Sliver tossed him off. "I was hoping that Alex had your head, since that's what you deserve of fate!"

Cid grunted as his ribbons cracked as he landed. Sliver stood up, wincing as his bones creaked into place.

"Ha, as if!" Cid wheezed, rising up as Sliver stalked towards him. "Nobody's lives are determined by fate, but our own actions."

"Your actions makes the lava turn cold!" Sliver spat, hooking Cid's jawbone.

Cid whipped out his stone sword from his inventory. He swung, separating Sliver's hand from his wrist. Sliver hissed, staggering away as his hand plopped onto the floor. Sliver rolled away from Cid's second attack. Sliver sprinted to his hand which flew to his wrist as the Wither Skeletons glared at each other.

With a yell, Cid charged towards Sliver, his stone sword whistling. Sliver slid under the sword, falling onto his spine. He summoned his bow and shot Cid with a slowness arrow, his aim a little off due to the fact Sliver was on the floor.

Cid growled, his heels screeching as he skidded to a stop.

Sliver rolled. Sniped the wither's dominant hand with a slowness arrow.

Cid raged, struggling to speed up his movements against the slowness effect.

"Stand down!" Sliver barked, tugging the bow's string back with another arrow.

"Ha! As... I... would... ever!"

Sliver shot Cid again, resetting the slowness duration. "Draw back your money, and never go near _her_ again, then I might give you mercy that you clearly don't deserve." Sliver ordered, nocking another arrow and aiming it towards Cid. "Do you agree to my terms?"

But Cid didn't have to answer since the doors to the ballroom suddenly slammed open as Wither Skeletons ran inside. "Freeze!" The ringleader barked, unsheathing his sword.

Cid let out a slow laugh. "No. You're... suurrrroooounded, mate."

Sliver shot towards one of the entering knights, slowing the arriving group a bit. He reached to grab another arrow, but his breath hitched as he groped the air. He was out of arrows.

And that meant Sliver's trapped. But did he give up?

Sliver tossed his bow aside and tackled Cid, dodging his swaying sword. Sliver punched Cid. Stole the sword as Cid recoiled. Rolled off Cid and sprang onto his feet.

Sliver's sword swung to ward off the first knight that reached him. Sliver used his sword to butt the skeleton down and move onto the next skeleton. And the next. And the next.

Sliver's stolen sword danced in the air as he moved to defend himself and attack the enemy. Sliver parried. Butted. Kicked. Sliced. Flicked. Knocked down those who had gotten up again. It was a chaotic dance for survival, although avoiding to make any kills.

While Sliver was busy fighting and holding off monster, Cid gradually advanced onto Sliver. Cid crouched, reaching for a wounded Wither Skeleton's sword.

Meanwhile, Goldy had finally regained senses of her surrounding as she slowly arose. She couldn't feel the pain, since it had numbed while taking over Goldy's nerves. She could see her magic working to heal her. But her magic wasn't saving the broken rod, remained broken and leaked black ooze.

Goldy eyed the black ooze as it dripped down onto the floor, gnawing away at the polished block. Her eyes traveled down the floor up to where the fighting was taking place.

Goldy's eyes widen as Cid neared close to Sliver with a sword. Way too close.

"SLIVER!" Goldy screamed. Sliver turned around to look at Goldy as he smote down another skeleton. Then he glanced at Cid.

Cid broke free of the slowness spell. He yelled as he knocked Sliver onto the ground, cracking Sliver's skull. The fighting halted as Sliver lied on the floor, unconscious. Cid scoffed. "The freak didn't even kill any of us. How did it hope to escape? Fighting chivalrously without killing's fruitless."

"Orders, sir?" A recovering knight stood up, wincing as one of its arm cracked.

"Throw it in the dungeons. Inform the king that our little outcast has returned." Cid kicked Sliver.

A few Wither Skeletons stood up and yanked Sliver up to carry him away. Cid popped his neck as he watched them leave. Then he turned to look at Goldy as she bit back whimpers.

She let out a small pain of grunt as she flew over the black ooze, glaring at him with unforgiving eyes. "You cheated, you bastard. Why do they call you a general if you're such a coward?"

Cid snorted. "Why are you on its side? The freak broke your rod, after all."

Goldy startled, another dash of pain running through her. "What? No, it was you-"

Cid turned away. "You should be grateful that it's locked away now. Your father's going to be furious when he sees what happened to _your poor rod_. You're obviously in shock, little chick, since it had nearly killed you and I saved your life. Your brain must had confused me for _it._ "

Goldy scowled, feeling cold. What was Cid up to now?

* * *

"How come _tu_ don't have any icy wind in your castle?" Z complained as he slipped an arm around an unconscious Endocrine's. "It's so hot, so _chaud_ around here, I'm parched."

King Wird and Z pulled Endocrine up with her arms around their necks. Her feet dragged on the floor- since she was taller than the two of them- as they carried her back in the castle.

"Do I look like I care?" Wird rolled his eyes.

"Well, _tu_ should!" Z huffed as they sped up.

"Just a reminder: the Peace Treaty does not apply to you, so go take a dip in the lava."

Z scoffed. "Haha. Nice try."

"And for goodness sake, it's not _tu_ , it's you. All you have to do is drop the t and make a short u." Wird gave Z a look.

"Oo?" Z attempted.

"You. It's almost like yew."

"Yoo?"

"Keep working on it," Wird grumbled, "Maybe you should go find a speech therapist."

"Hey!" Z barked as they went down the stairs.

"No offense," Wird added.

Z scowled. "I'm sure that's not how ' _non_ offense' works-"

"King Wird the Third!" The black head, Dynamite, popped up from the entrance that Wird and Z were seeking to exit in.

"Oh no, please not now," King Wird moaned, looking like he wanted to disappear into his armor.

Dynamite flew up to them, a distracted and distressed look in its eyes. "We have a report of- what the hell are you doing carrying a princess like that? Shouldn't you be doing the more _fancy_ and _solo_ version-"

"Go away!" King Wird barked, waving his free arm.

"Void, what on Overworld has happened?" Dynamite groaned, its face angling up towards the ceiling. "You're supposed to be on the throne, King Wird the-"

"I do what I want!" King Wird interrupted as the monsters moved under the head.

"No, keep pestering him!" Z pleaded, a sly grin growing on his face.

Wird stopped, giving Z a look as he snorted. "Do you want to carry her by yourself?"

" _Oui."_ Z bobbed his head.

"Good luck," Wird released Endocrine. Her unconscious weight threw the zombie off balance. Z struggled to keep the tall, sleeping human standing while Wird challenged Dynamite.

"So, what was it you wanted to tell me?" Wird placed his hands on his hips, raising an eyebrow.

"There's an outcast in the prison, King Wird the Third." Dynamite informed, flying to Wird's eyelevel.

"We have an outcast?" King Wird's other eyebrow rose.

"The outcast was banished by King Wird the First." Dynamite gave King Wird an exasperated look.

King Wird cleared his throat, his hands played with his gauntlets. "Okay, so what did that outcast to do get into an unfortunate situation?"

Dynamite bobbed his head as he listed down reasons. "Ashamed his parents, a disgrace to society, complaints of sociopaths, will not learn his place, murdered one of our monsters, and a public distraction."

King Wird blinked. "Ok, wow. What did it do now?"

"Brainwashed a blaze, broke a blaze's rod, challenged General Cider, and nearly murdered General Cider's troop."

King Wird whistled, his left foot circling the ground. "So, the monsters expect justice?"

"Yes sir." Dynamite nodded.

"Very well. Prepare a trial on my return and keep a guard on the outcast." King Wird ordered.

"Yes sir."

"Where do you think you're going?!" the blue head, Screamer, screeched as it flew in.

King Wird walked back to Z, who looked like he close to dropping Endocrine. "I'm going to save some monsters." King Wird nodded before slipping Endocrine's other arm around his neck. Z looked up with gratitude as the weight reduced off his shoulder.

"Goodbye." King Wird marched forward, causing Z to stumble and then catch up with the King.

Once they had left the castle, King Wird took a deep breath. Then he muttered under his breath, glowering at the path in front of him.

"They give yoo a hard time, don't they?" Z asked as they hurried down another flight of stairs.

King Wird sighed. "My father had died a few months ago. It's about a matter of time Alex will summon me. Whenever I'm not scheduled to be on my throne, they're training me to fight."

King Wird bit his lips and grimaced. "I can feel the fear in my Kingdom. Queen Drelizabeth messed everything up and I can sense these monsters doesn't hold much hope in the future."

Z blinked as they stepped off the stairs and moved through the wart garden. "What do yoo mean 'Queen Drelizabeth messed everything up?"

Wird turned his head to look at Z directly in the eyes. " _You_. Anyways, Queen Drelizabeth wasn't the one the Void wanted to kill Alex."

"Don't yoo mean Notch? Since Notch also created _le_ Void?" Z corrected.

"Yeah, sure. And it's 'the', not 'le'. With a tee-ach. Th."

"Well, then how do you know it's not Queen Drelizabeth's role? I mean, perhaps _non_ one would be able to kill Alex, that's how powerful she is."

King Wird stopped walking, forcing Z to wait. The king stared at the ground, brainstorming and blinking.

King Wird slowly began. "Have you ever felt like someone was constantly watching you?"

Z hesitated. " _Oui?_ "

They resumed walking, albeit at a slower pace.

King Wird looked at the growing warts. "It's like someone is constantly judging us. Every breath, every step, and every blink."

"There are such things as 'gods' yoo know," Z scoffed.

"We don't believe in such things." Wird glowered. "Most of us Nether monsters believe that magic underneath the worlds created the land, not something silly was Notch or Herobrine or whatever."

Z rolled his eyes. "Alright, whatever, let's suppose there's no such thing as a supreme being watching us, which counts in _le_ Void and magic. Who's spying on us then?"

" _The._ Do you sense Alex?" Wird adjusted Endocrine's arms since she was slipping down.

" _Non._ " Z admitted.

"And obviously the End Army isn't around because you'll be dead and the entire kingdom would be at war." Wird gestured at Z to turn left. "So, can you explain to me on how some dreams turns out to be true?"

"Deja vu?" Z raised his eyebrow and smirked. They turned left as they reached the edge of the gardens.

King Wird snorted. "Then tell me, how does deja vu happens?"

"Coincidence?"

"You are absolutely hopeless." Wird groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "Let me get to the point. I believe it boils down to this: we're in a story."

Z burst out into laughter. "That's a bit far-fetched, isn't it? I mean there's all of these sayings: 'Life's a story' and 'I'm an open book', for example."

"Ok, so how did you find Princess Endocrine?" Wird used his free hand to point at Endocrine.

Z looked at the maroon ceiling. "Well, she fell from _le_ sky in a mine cart with two pes-spiders."

"And she didn't take any damage when she moved out of the cart" Wird gave Z a skeptical look.

 _"Non_ , but-"

"How did she coincidentally mange to avoid death?"

"Fate?" Z shrugged his free arm.

Wird hummed. "How is fate controlled by?"

Z scrunched his face. "... Magic?"

"How is magic created?"

"By spells," Z said as they approached a cliff.

"How did living creatures get a hold of spells?" King Wird nodded.

"Books..." Z's face went blank. "You're getting a little too philosophical, or deep, aren't yoo?"

They came to a stop at the edge of the cliff.

"You'd be deep if you slept and dreamed for years." Wird stared ahead. "It really gives you a new perspective, doesn't it?"

King Wird whistled for a Ghast as Z looked down over the cliff to look at the lava. They didn't say anything for a minute or two. Z's shoulder started to sag as he stared at the lava, the cries of ghasts shifting into white noise.

"Why did you follow Princess Endocrine?" King Wird suddenly interrupted the silence. "As what I've seen you two interacting, she doesn't really seems to like you. Barely tolerating, maybe."

Z fiddled with his vest. "Well, you know about that 'story' thing? Well-"

Endocrine gave a jerk, startling the two monsters. She began to twitch, hissing in her sleep.

Wird stared at Endocrine for a while, his eyes zoning out of reality. After a few seconds he blinked. Wird looked up at Z, biting his lips. "She's having a nightmare."

Z scrunched his face in befuddlement. "Obviously...?"

A ghast with tear stains finally flew by, whining for affection as it flew to Wird. "You should get on. They love being rode on, it gives them a sense of usefulness."

The ghast scooted closer to the edge, making more whining noises.

"You'd better hurry. You really don't want to be near future End queens when they're starving to death. And I'm not talking about the whole 'hangry' thing." Wird said, helping Z place Endocrine down on the ghost.

Then it was Z's turn to board the ghast. "Sure, _les_ entire time in our journey, Princess was annoyed with me because she was hangry," Z said drily, tiptoing onto the ghast. It cooed as Z sat down on it. Z blinked, and then he patted it for extra measure, coaxing a purr out of the ghast.

King Wird ignored Z's comment. "It's been a pleasure meeting you two." King Wird nodded, moving away from the ghast.

"Likewise," Z bowed his head. The ghast began to float up.

"Sorry about your friend, G.P." Wird cleared his throat.

"What-how? I never told yoo about her." Z's eyes widen.

King Wird only smiled, tipping his crown. Then he ordered to the ghast in an ancient language.

The ghast purred, contented as it propelled forward.

" _Bon voyage,_ dumb brains!" Wird yelled, waving.

Z rolled his eyes. " _Au revior,_ dreamer head!" He barked back, waving.

"Don't let your grief destroy you; stay busy like you've been doing for the past few hours! Take Princess Endocrine home safely, the End really needs her!" Wird added as the ghast picked up speed.

The ghast flew away, the heat wipping around Z and Endocrine as the Nether King and his kingdom shrinked. Z stopped waving and sighed as the ghast flew towards the roof and towards an opening.

As the ghast entered into a large tunnel, Endocrine started twitch again, her neutral expression turning into pain. Z glanced at her, unsure of what's going on with her. King Wird did mention a nightmare...

The ghast turned, causing Endocrine to roll off the ghast.

" _Non non non non non_!" Z yelped, grabbing her jacket and pulled Endocrine back onto the ghast. He then shrieked, his hand darting off her. He panted, pulling his legs to himself as he hugged himself and eyed Endocrine warily.

"Wait. I just touched her." Z blinked. Cauctiously, he used his shoe to poke Endocrine. No reaction.

Z giggled, beaming, giving Endocrine another poke. "I touched her! I finally touched her and I didn't die- _non_ don't fall off!" Z grabbed her once arm again to stop her from sliding off the ghast.

Z chuckled as he ran his hand through his messy hair. "If the End doesn't want you because you fall off things, I won't be surprised." He heaved, looking towards the ceiling as he fanned himself with his white shirt. "Don't worry, Princess, I'll get yoo home safely. I won't let what happened to G.P. happen to yoo. _Tu as ma promesse._ "

* * *

 **Author's Note: _Tu as ma promesse =_ You have my promise.**

 **HOOOOOOOOOLY COW. I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR SO LONG TO WORK ON THE NEXT CHAPTER. _So much drama goes down. *rubs hands*_ (I'm kinda terrified to be honest. You all have a right to be worried)**

 **... and yup, it's another split chapter. This chapter almost reached 5k. I also didn't want to worry about word count in the next scene since I've been waiting for this since February. I will have to rewrite the entire chapter because my mind came up with something more epic/thrilling than the original plan (about 1k words, which I am planning to expand to 3k-4k).**

 **Planned next update: The first weekend of August. I can't really promise anything right now. I managed to snatch a really nice job, so... we'll see what happens now that I may be more tired to edit. (And also, I just got a new and better phone (yeeeeyy) so I'll probably be playing around on it more instead of working on my projects. It's a lot of fun to play Minecraft PE with your sibling (my only brother and I kept killing each other while I procrastinated on this chapter lol. My brother's the cow assassin (which makes me furious), and then he gets mad at the fact I stole his fish in revenge. But we're all good because he laughs at how fast I die because it's been forever since I've played on MC PE (almost two years, thanks to my stupid ipod not receiving anymore updates and crashing due to the infinity feature.) and I'm amused with the fact he can't handle normal mode monsters while I smoothly can.) :D )**

 **There won't be any** ** _Endertainment_** **jokes after this for a while. I don't want to destroy the mood I'm trying to nail down. If that disappoints you guys, would you want several jokes into the appropriate chapters?**

 _ **Endertainment!**_

 _What's the difference between Pigmen and Endermen at a dinner table?_

 _Pigmen scarfs down food like an hungry **hog** while Endermen are more **picky** , which also leads Endermen to being more sl **ender!** :D_

 **~Rosie**

 **PS: Endocrine better stop being picky with her food or she's going to die for real lol (I'm not afraid to kill her (or anyone) off, you guys).**


	13. Is the End a Nightmare? (PT 2)

**PART 2**

* * *

Even in her dream, the world was spinning and shifting. Despite Endocrine's headache, she could observe things clearly. The stars glared against the darkest black sky Endocrine had ever seen, and no moon nor sun lit the sky. The stars gave lights barely onto the fields of rolling grass shape as they danced despite the still wind.

Endocrine folded her arms as she looked down the endless field. She couldn't see any signs of active life, and the only sounds that Endocrine could hear were the rustling grass.

She glanced around again, but she knew that there were nothing but grass and stars. She have been here before, and sometimes this type of dream never brings what she desired to see. Even though there were nothing, she knew that in the unreachable abyss, there's everything. Nothing always brings everything, and everything gives definition to nothing. And since there were everything, the everything included Endocrine. She could become nothing, or she could become everything.

Who knows? It is a dream, after all. Well, actually, Endocrine couldn't tell if she was dead or dreaming.

The grass began to bow down towards one direction, pushed by an unknown source. Endocrine couldn't feel any breeze as the air around her felt heavy and static. That meant the grass wanted her to move towards in that direction.

Endocrine obeyed, stepping over the bending grass which straightened as she passed over. She watched as the stars began to shift and merge with each other. Each time they merged, they wolfed downed the bleak darkness as their density increased. Their white light began to blind Endocrine, forcing her to cover up her eye as the grass burned from the intensity of the light.

"Endocrine?"

Endocrine jolted, the blinding light gone as she blinked. She recognized that she was back in her old home. Endocrine looked around her, seeing that the floor was grey with more grey walls. Endocrine glanced behind her, the tall windows familiar to her memory.

She was in her favorite place in the castle, which was her mother's least favorite room. Here, she could gain solitary from the glaring eyes of her mother and sisters. It was quite plain, and there weren't any paintings hung up on the wall. The wall needed to be replaced as it didn't fit in with the rest of the End Castle. The other rooms were detailed, lively, and exotic; but here...

It was perfect for Endocrine, really.

Endocrine glanced away from the window and towards the floor. She spotted a younger version of her human self sleeping awkwardly with a book on her face.

Endocrine's lips twitched up to a smile, recalling all of those time she'd wake up with words staring at her. And then sometimes the pages would fold a bit, which made Younger Endocrine feel bad for the ancient books. They didn't deserve to be on someone's sleeping face. Endocrine still felt guilty about those books.

"Endocrine?" an enderman with green eyes peeked through the door. _Elanie._

Younger Endocrine shifted, reaching up to rub her eyes awake. She stopped, realizing that a book was hugging her face.

The Elanie huffed, shaking her head. "Found you sleeping with a book again."

Younger Endocrine picked the book off her face, giving her younger sister a sheepish smile.

 _"Hush, Elaine,_ " the room vibrated as Younger Endocrine glanced at the page number before closing the book.

Endocrine hugged herself, biting her cheeks as she sighed through her nose. _Not this idiotic dream again._ There was nothing Endocrine could do but wait it out.

"Mother's looking for you, you know." Elanie closed the door behind her, her green eyes warily looking out of the window. "She still wants to train you some more."

" _Train me for what?"_ Younger Endocrine rolled her eyes as she sat up. She slouched over, glaring at the window. " _I don't see the point with all of this stupid 'training'. If she wants to train us so badly, why don't she take us out to the Overworld and show us how to chop trees or something?"_

Elanie rubbed her long, skinny arms nervously. "Don't shoot the messenger, Endocrine. You know mother'll get furious if you don't show up. She made a big show out of slaying Relysea today because she talked back." Elanie looked down.

The room growled, " _Mother."_

Younger Endocrine transformed into an enderman as she stood up, her violet eyes locked onto the window. Endocrine observed that her transformation started from her feet and hands and then moved up as the magical particles around her bunched.

"Um, Endocrine?" Elanie peeped, tensing. "I really don't think you should keep on purposefully using a nasty attitude around Mother."

Younger Endocrine turned to give Elanie an unimpressed look.

"Because I-I-I'm scared, Endocrine."

" _Why should you be scared? I swear, if mother said anything_ idiotic _to you again..._ " Younger Endocrine's eyes narrowed as she pursed her lips.

"I don't want you or I to die, Endocrine." Elanie's shoulder shook. "I'm terrified because I know that she knows about you being the closest with me and she might make me do something. She might kill me to get you to obey her."

Endocrine leaned against the dream wall and clenched her fists, knowing what's to come next.

Younger Endocrine scoffed, rolling her eyes. " _She'll have to go through my dead body going berserk before she can kill you."_

"I know she favors you, Endocrine." Elanie struggled to take deep breaths. "I just don't want me or you to di-di-die..."

Elanie broke into hysterics, sending Younger Endocrine into a brief panic attack. Endocrine clenched her teeth together, spamming wishes for the dream to end.

" _No! Don't cry!"_

Endocrine took deep breaths as she focused onto the grey wall. She knew that the endermen were hugging. She remembered patting Elanie's head in attempt to calm her down. Elanie's emotional health were weaker than Endocrine's. Every time Queen Drelizabeth scolded Elanie, she would come running to Endocrine before she could lose it.

Endocrine hated Queen Drelizabeth for playing with Elanie like that. It wasn't fair. Queen Drelizabeth never said any encouragement, any praise; but only words of hate and scorn that Elanie never deserved. Endocrine couldn't recall any words of hope from Queen Drelizabeth, either.

" _There, there, that's better, alright? In and out. Just like that Enderman taught us."_

Endocrine remembered dreading the day Queen Drelizabeth would turn too cruel, that Elanie wouldn't be able to control the tears and she'd die. Even if she didn't die right away, it would be a cold and brutal death if she holds onto life desperately as her dried tears tore her insides apart. Sadly, Endocrine wasn't around long enough to see if Elanie had survived the emotional torture...

"Thanks, Endocrine." Elanie gasped.

" _You need to learn how to ignore mother's words. Mother's created to spew out nothing but big fat words worth of a naked sheep in a middle of a blizzard."_

Endocrine snorted, turning away from the wall to look at the scenario.

The endermen were still hugging, with Younger Endocrine taller than Elanie. Younger Endocrine was still patting Elanie's head, whom was leaning on Younger Endocrine's shoulder. Just like Endocrine recalled.

"... Endocrine?"

 _"Hmm?_ " Younger Endocrine paused, but then resumed patting to show she was listening.

"Do you think it's possible for both of us to be queen together?" Elanie peered up at Younger Endocrine.

Younger Endocrine's purple eyes shifted towards the ceiling as she shrugged. _"Maybe._ "

"Promise me, Endocrine, please." Elanie stared at Endocrine. "Don't you ever die. Please, I won't bear it if you die. If you keep to your promise, we'll rule better than mother. I promise I'll find a way to survive if you do."

Silence as Younger Endocrine stared at the ceiling.

Younger Endocrine slowly made eye contact with Elanie's green eyes as she stepped back. Endocrine tapped Elanie's cheek and then pushed her away lightly. _"I promise."_

Younger Endocrine gave her younger sister, Elanie, a nod and then she teleported away. Endocrine knew where her younger self had teleported off to: to train and face her mother once again.

The room broke and crumbled, signaling the end of the scene. Endocrine found herself back in the empty field as the stars repositioned into their original spots. She stared off into the distance, feeling like a cow was sitting on her shoulders and gnawing at her heart.

Endocrine doubted Elanie was still alive. But she knew that one other princess was still alive since the End Army was chasing her... or are they now? However, if they still want her head, it would be foolish to hope that other Enderman's Elanie. And if it was...

Endocrine flinched as Queen Drelizabeth's sudden laughter boomed from the stars, " _Why make promises you can't keep?"_

Like on cue, the grass and dirt loosened and rippled, causing Endocrine to stagger. The star echoed Endocrine's mental yelp as water began to emerge around her. The ghoulish stars gleamed as it giggled, damning her to her deepest fear.

Water.

Endocrine turned, but the increasing sight of water around her compelled her to freeze. The grass around her were drowning, its blades reaching up like it was begging for help.

Like desperate, drowning creatures, the grass latched onto and wrapped around Endocrine's boots. The stars continued to laugh, their delight growing louder.

Endocrine struggled to escape the quicksand of grass and water as she leaned over and clawed to free her boots. She was careful to avoid touching the water as she tried to rip the stubborn grass. However, she had to let go as the grass and boots became parts of the water, but she could still feel it pulling her down as the water reflected the jeering stars.

Endocrine thrashed, her nerves jittering as she attempted to break free. The water rippled and shivered with her actions, reflecting the terrified state of Endocrine's brain.

The water continued to rise. Endocrine sunk deeper into hyperventilation, losing control of her grip on her boots as entire body trembled and twitched. She jerked as a blade of grass shot up out of the reflecting pool and snatched her left arm.

Endocrine's upper body strained against the pulling grass, the blade determined as it continued to slither and curl around her left arm. How could Endocrine escape from this nightmare?

Endocrine fought back the frightened tears threatening to gather from her eyes. Adding to her dismay, she felt another blade of grass latching onto her right arm. Both of her arms were captured by the plants, her nerves screeching as Endocrine thrashed.

The chaotic and black, starry lake rippled, parts of it touching Endocrine's knees. Endocrine flinched and gritted her teeth, her body resisting the shock. Burns shot through her nerves as the grass tightened and moved onto her, lusting for her to join them.

She squeezed her eyes shut as the vines of grass slipped onto her shoulders and thighs, forcing her to bend forward to the water. The laughing stars grew louder, cheering as a blade of grass stabbed into her shoulder bone.

Endocrine's choked on her breath, her ribcages clenching as the grass pulverized her lungs. Endocrine opened her eye, seeing even more stars and a large, dark silhouette with sharp, violet eyes staring back.

The human jerked as another blade of grass pierced beneath her other shoulder bone, through her flesh and bones, and darted into the water.

The dark silhouette was a dragon. It was Queen Drelizabeth- no.

Queen Endocrine stared back at Princess Endocrine with pained tears in her eyes.

Endocrine plummeted into the water as a new avalanche of fear gripped her body.

* * *

Endocrine jolted awake as she sat up, gripping the soft fabric around her as she failed to scream.

 _No!_

Endocrine wheezed, squeezing her eyes shut. It was just a nightmare. There was no water around her. Her pain was just her imagination. She wasn't standing on a doomed field of grass that would turn into an ocean eager to eat her. She was on...

Wait.

Soft fabric?

Endocrine released the fabric as she opened her eyes warily. She sitting on layers of long fabrics of different textures and shades of violet. If she twisted around enough, she could see several bags stuffed full of feathers and wool.

 _Why am I on a bed?_

Endocrine blinked, paling as her brain felt like an anvil. Her hunger bar was full, which also meant a full health bar. She didn't have her jacket and boots on. Why are they off? She hated the short ruffled sleeve of her purple dress and her exposed arm felt sensitive to the cold air.

Her vision trailed off the bed and onto the black wall detailed with purple flourishes. She turned her head, registering several different furniture. There was a chair carved with extreme care. Desks. Chests. Windows. Drapes of curtains. Lots and lots of mirrors.

She had been here once. She's in the Queen's room. Queen Drelizabeth's room. Mother's bedchambers. The Dragon's lair. The forbidden room that she accidentally stumbled across while she was exploring. The room that was closed off to prevent anyone from killing the dragon while she slept.

Endocrine spotted her jacket neatly folded on a chair nearby. Trembling, she crawled off the bed and stumbled to the chair to pick up her jacket.

She couldn't stop her nerves from jumping as she shoved her arms through her sleeves. Once she was safe within the comfort of her jacket, she plopped down onto the chair.

Endocrine was back home, the End Castle, which was high above the main End island. But how? Wasn't she dead? She must be dead. There was no way unless the End Army's about to burst through the fancy doors and knock her dead. But why here? Why fill her hunger bar and health up? Was this some kind of cruel joke? Were they going to torture her?

Endocrine spotted her boots tucked away next to the bed, sloping awkwardly from the hollow space inside it. Endocrine couldn't get her hand to still as she reached for it and yanked her boots on.

Once her feet were secure in her boots, Endocrine stood up and stumbled towards the door. However, she fell over onto her face in shock when the door opened for her.

 _Oof._

"Queen Endocrine?" An enderman looked down at her.

 _Nope, nope, nope._

"... Are you alright?" he crooked his head.

 _Oh Notch, what do I look like to you? A baby bunny? Please tell me I'm a bunny disguised as Endocrine._

"... Miss?"

 _A female bunny disguised as Endocrine._

"You're shaking."

 _A terrified female bunny disguised as Endocrine._

"Are you embarrassed? I can't see your face. If you're embarrassed, you can simply kill me and then you won't have any witnesses of you being on the floor unroyally."

Endocrine sighed, placing her hands onto the floor and slowly pushed herself up to glare at the enderman. _Hi idiot, I had acknowledged you, now shut up._

"So... you're still mute?" The enderman coughed.

 _Of course I'm still mute._ Endocrine grimaced as her head spun. Her arms shook as she placed a knee under her and struggled to stand. _The question is, am I a bunny? Since they don't make noises unless they're tortured-_

"Hmm, that's interesting," The enderman muttered, watching Endocrine like she was going to fall over again. "How is a mute queen going to lead us?"

 _Stop calling me queen. I am a bunny for sure._ Endocrine leaned onto the table, her head slightly rocking with her dizziness. No. Not just dizzy, she's also nauseous.

 _Ugh, I have questions, where are the papers?_ Endocrine's head continued to sway as she looked around the room. Ah, the papers were on a writing desk, which was on the other side of the room. They were piled together neatly with a quill soaking in ink nearby.

Endocrine pointed to the papers, waiting for the enderman to understand.

The enderman stared, but then bowed as his eyes jumped in recognition. "Ah, yes, Queen Endocrine."

 _I'm a bunny, idiot._

He teleported to the desk, gathered the paper and quill, and then teleported back to Endocrine's side. He avoided eye contact as he placed the materials on the table.

Endocrine swallowed, picking up the feather. She pursed her lips as she watched the feather quiver with her hand, but then she began writing messily in the End language: " _I am a bunny, stop calling me Queen Endocrine."_

The enderman squinted at her writing, but then he snorted. "I admire your sense of humour, my Queen. However, I'm afraid you're you, not a bumbling bunny."

 _"How did I get here? Why are you calling me a queen? Stop. I'm serious, I'm a bunny. There's no way I would be here._ "

"But you are here. The second-to-last Princess brought the egg back from Alex with her dying breath, and suddenly you were the true heir. A terrified and exhausted zombie brought you here, followed by the End Army. He burst into comical screams and tears because he thought you died the moment you entered, but it was merely the transformation beginning.

"Your health and hunger restored to full in that immediate transformation. Had he been a minute later, we would had lost you as you'll slip away in your sleep." He finished, placing his hands behind his back and bowed.

 _"Who was the last princess?"_ Endocrine poked him with a quill, her head growing fuzzy as a heavy feeling sank in her heart.

"You, Queen Endocrine."

 _"No. The other one. What happened to her?"_

He stared at the floor, silent. Endocrine's bloodstream chilled as she waited. His silence wasn't good. When endermen are silent, it's never good.

Endocrine tapped on the paper, urging him to speak.

He took a deep breath, shaking his head. After what felt like an century, he whispered: "Elanie."

 _I knew it. I knew it._ Endocrine gasped, slapping a hand over her mouth as she squeezed her eye shut.

"She had- no, she wanted to go get the egg back," the enderman stammered. "She- our brother Azza- I don't know if you know him- didn't bother stopping her. He knew it was too dangerous but he didn't stop her. I don't know why Azza let her. He died protecting her from Alex. But at least Elanie succeeded, which is good, right?"

 _NO._

Endocrine couldn't breathe. She didn't want to be a queen because it meant that Elanie would be dead.

Endocrine dropped to her knees, her shoulders shaking. She never wanted to be queen because then it meant Elanie failed her promise. She'd be gone forever.

For the first time in her life, she began to cry. Now that she was the- gods forbidden- End Dragon, she was able to shred tears without permanent damage. And she hated that now she can't suicide with bitter tears.

Endocrine curled up into a ball, hiding her face from reality. This was too cruel for her. Fate would had been much kinder if she could at least see Elanie for one more time. See her how she've grown from all of these years. Would she had been the same? If she was meaner, then it'd be easier for Endocrine to kill her. But then...

It would be impossible to kill the sister she cared about the most. Which would had been much crueler, to never see her again or to kill her?

Endocrine ached all over, her heart twisting. Her head throbbed, everything felt tense and groggy. She wanted someone to stab her and tear her intestines out and stitch it back in with venom. And then cut off her arms and force-feed her to eat it.

She've faced years of loneliness, hundreds of failed promises, and lost companions; and now she had to face more loss. It doesn't matter if the endermen now treat her like she's their life source, they'd only follow her like blind puppets. Endocrine watched many endermen murmur about Queen Drelizabeth, and now they're going to murmur about her.

Queen Endocrine.

 _You idiot._ The other voice inside of Endocrine's brain sneered. _Why are you crying? You should be rejoicing. You know that now you're a dragon, you will regain everything. You don't have to wear that eyepatch anymore, you now know that your eye's back and the scars are gone. It's like resurrecting into a more perfect body, remember?_ _And new relationships can be formed and deposed._

Endocrine's body shook from hiccups. _But E-E-Elanie..._

 _WHY CAN'T YOU ACCEPT YOUR FATE, ENDOCRINE?!_

Suddenly, Endocrine's body was thrown back. She felt her back crack as she made impact with the wall and onto the floor.

The walls began to crumble, dusting into a black abyss.

This was a dream. Endocrine was still dreaming. Except the grass had been replaced by an invisible floor.

Endocrine's second voice snarled, _WHY CAN'T YOU!?_

 _Not you, Mother!_ Endocrine's head darted up, her eye narrowing at the darkness around her.

"Hello, my little princess." Drelizabeth's eyes opened in the darkness, her inner fire lighting up her grinning dragon mouth. "It was about time you stopped referring me as to your 'second voice'."

 _Go away!_ Endocrine snarled, wiping her false, harmless tears off her cheek as she stood.

Stars began to appear all around them as the dragon stalked towards Endocrine. "Go away? Heeheehee, you can't even keep a ghost out of your brain!"

Drelizabeth lunged, her head twisting to bite Endocrine. Endocrine dropped and rolled, her heart hammering with hate as she narrowly dodged Drelizabeth's jaws.

Endocrine somersaulted onto her feet, watching Drelizabeth directing her tail so she could turn as she flew. "I am tired of you treating your mother and queen like a second voice. Why do you do this to me?"

 _Because I can, now stop trying to guilt-trip me and watch me treat you like a second voice._ Endocrine struck her tongue out at the dragon and stalked away.

Big mistake.

The stars blinked off as the floor began to shift towards Queen Drelizabeth.

 _Shit._ Endocrine broke into a sprint, but she couldn't move from her spot.

Queen Drelizabeth giggled as the floor tripped Endocrine and carried her over. "Even now you try to run away." The dragon shook her head in mock pity. "I'm afraid that your head is the only place you can't run from, Endocrine."

Endocrine flipped over onto her back to roll back to her feet. But then Drelizabeth slammed her claws onto her chest to prevent her from getting up. "You can't run from fate, Endocrine." Drelizabeth snarled, her claws digging into Endocrine's flesh.

 _Yes I can._ Endocrine tried to pry Drelizabeth's claws off her.

"No you can't," Drelizabeth tittered.

 _Can!_

"Can't."

 _Can!_ Endocrine jolted from another wave of pain.

"Gods, Endocrine, why do you run away and deny so much?" Drelizabeth's claws dug deeper, prying a hiss out of Endocrine as she felt her muscles tear. "Don't you know it's easier to accept?"

 _At least I'm in good shape, unlike you lazily receiving everything._ Endocrine managed to pry Drelizabeth's claws out of her skin, hissing as the blood began to creep from the dragon's punctures. However, now she had to struggle against Drelizabeth's force and weight.

"Wow, you make me want to sacrifice myself." The dragon drily sneered.

 _Me too. Oh, wait, you already did._

Endocrine used her magic to blast and throw Drelizabeth off her. Endocrine panted as she stood, turning to watch Drelizabeth stand back onto her feet.

Drelizabeth chuckled, moving to circle around Endocrine. "MMMMmmm, I love how powerful your brain is, can you feel the power, the magic? I can do so much more than I could when I was alive."

 _Shame, you could use the power before Alex staked your head on a pole. How's the sunset there?_ Endocrine straightened as she used a hand to hold against her own pouring blood, sneering.

Drelizabeth growled, her grin dissolving. "Stop that!"

 _Stop what?_ Endocrine flipped her hair with a free hand. _Stop rebelling against you? Oh, I am so, so sorry. Do you want me to kiss your feet? Fall onto my knees and beg for mercy? Well, you know what?_ YOU _stop. Leave my brain at once-_

Drelizabeth roared as she tore Endocrine into halves. "I am tired of watching you do nothing but run!"

 _And I am tired of listening to you boss me around!_ Endocrine fumed as she broke into experience points. The points reconnected to create an another Endocrine, her fresh wounds gone.

Drelizabeth screeched, spreading her wings. She darted into the sky and charged down towards Endocrine.

Endocrine placed a foot back and crouched. Once the dragon was close enough, Endocrine dropped, placed a hand on the ground, and magic-kicked the dragon's jaws.

Drelizabeth crashed into the ground like a meteorite, skidding as she was unable to stop.

 _I'd fight you for a lifetime._ Endocrine smirked, beginning her transformation into her Enderman form as she stalked over to her mother. _After everything you've done to me and my sisters._

Drelizabeth chuckled, her head hidden from Endocrine's view. "Your sisters? What a hypocrite."

Drelizabeth transformed into light, her back against Endocrine. Her glowing wings folded back and out of sight into her shoulder blade. Her hair appeared, which was longer, thinner and grey with streaks of platinum. "I've watched you kill your sisters, Endocrine."

Suddenly, Endocrine doubled over as a sharp lightning sped through her chest as her transformation reversed unwillingly. Then her skin began to bruise.

Drelizabeth turned to look at Endocrine, grinning. "Do you remember how you killed Staise?"

Endocrine's bones snapped.

"Yuika?"

Drelizabeth lifted her hand, summoning a tsunami to swallow Endocrine. Endocrine's heart fell into a coma as she was thrown back by the immense force of water.

"You killed so many of your sisters, Endocrine!" Drelizabeth yelled as the water vaporized and dropped Endocrine, the queen's eyes dancing with fire as her grin stretched. "And now you'll feel their pain of the deaths as you killed them!"

Endocrine's head ripped from her body. She resurrected, but only for her flesh to shriek as it stinged.

"You had killed so many monsters!"

Endocrine's ribs cracked, causing her to curl. Then her legs shredded. Her body plummeted into a growing pool of Enderman blood.

"You've killed generals!"

Endocrine's body twisted. Resurrected. Her lungs froze as an invisible hand grabbed her throat. The pressure released as she was tossed onto the ground, dead. The moment she came back to life, her skin darkened as it burned into charcoals.

"Troops of endermen! I watched you slay down armies!"

Endocrine let out a strained but muted whimper as she respawned. She felt even more pain smacking against her own body as she respawned over and over. She nearly vomited, but then she felt her spine snap and her airway crushed, ending another false life.

"You were so powerful," Drelizabeth spat, "That you made the End Army fear you. A single, measly princess. Why?"

Endocrine's ears rang as her nerves numbed. She coughed out blood as the strikes dwindled, the sudden reduction of pain bringing her some relief.

"I used my magic to keep you alive when you nearly died from all of those fighting. I kept you alive when you were ready to surrender your soul back at the swamp. I knew you were the next heir to the throne, Endocrine. The End Army needs you, and fate knows that." Drelizabeth strutted over to Endocrine. "And I am _sick_ of watching you run from fate!"

Drelizabeth kicked Endocrine. "I know you can fight! But all you've been doing is running! Running! RUNNING!"

 _I'm tired of fighting, mother!_ Endocrine wheezed, pain aching all over her body. _I'm so tired of it! All I want to do is to not see more of my friends die because I'm forced to fight-_

"You were bred to fight, Endocrine! You were chosen by fate, and the more you resist fate, the deeper you'll lose!"

 _Shut up!_

"It's so pathetic see that you're fighting against fate for _her!_ You're just like me, you don't need her! You can easily kill her!" Drelizabeth smashed her heels against Endocrine's skull. Endocrine teleported as her skull cracked, her blonde hair turning into crimson.

 _Elanie's-_

"I kept you company in your head and barked sense to you to keep you from going insane, like your sisters!" Drelizabeth snarled, marching over to Endocrine. "There's an End Army waiting for you, and you can perfectly show them who's in charge. I know you can, they're craving for order and for your commands _._ All you have to do is-"

 _SHUT UP! I WON'T EVER ACTIVATE IT AGAIN!_

Endocrine exploded with a violet light, the impact hurling Drelizabeth against the invisible ground, loudly breaking a few bones as she landed. Endocrine's ears rang as the light popped out just as fast as it came, leaving the fighters dazed.

Drelizabeth rose first, growling. She clutched her broken arm and shoulder as she lumbered to her daughter. "But you will." Drelizabeth spat out blood, her facial muscles twitching with rage. "You have it and you will reactivate it when you meet the End Army as soon you leave the Nether, and I know you do because _I_ have the same instinct you do. In fact, you tried to use it on me when I took away your voice-"

 _'Took away your voice?'_ Endocrine bristled. _I thought I was born without a vocal cord._

Drelizabeth paled, her eyes went as big as the moon as she stumbled back.

Before Endocrine could question her mother any further, she woke up from the searing pain of hunger. The world of swirling red and cooing of a ghast greeted her back into a groggy reality.

* * *

 **Author's note: ...**

 **Endocrine's still dying, y'all. And Endocrine suffers from hyper-realistic dreams (you know, the kind that sometimes makes you act like you're using a spoon in real life while dreaming about eating soup. Or if something pinches you, you'll feel it in your dream. I recently had a dream where I accidentally woke up half-awake so I was still dreaming, and that was terrifying just seeing shadows come to life and attack me. I had to use my phone to make the shadows disappear and convince myself I'm safe).**

 **And if you're wondering on how Drelizabeth talks to Endocrine, more information will be revealed in chapter 15-17 (I'm not sure how long the story will be yet due to splitting. Hopefully 20 chapters long), so hang in there!**

 **So, there won't be any** ** _Endertainment_** **for the next two, three, or four chapters because I'm trying to keep the tone/mood consistent and uninterrupted. (Yeah, the next few chapters are really serious chapters.) Let me know if you want doubles when the chapters are in the correct mood again!**

 **Anyways, I was late once again because life came up. I had to go to camp, Fanfic decided to be a jerk and delete 500-1k words and scream "RELOGIN" (twice.), and then I had to get my tonsils removed. Being in so much pain gave me inspirations for Endocrine's struggle, and holy cow she's one strong woman. I look up to her now haha. (I'm always looking up at her because in her human form, she's 5'9'' (almost 2 meters/Minecraft blocks for you non-American guys) tall and I'm a shorty.)**

 **Second, school's back up for me and I've been exhausted to work on McM. Like, I work hard during school hours and then when I come home, I'm just staring at the wall, brain dead and listening to my playlists. And then my parents expects me to retake and study for tests, drive my siblings around, and apply to scholarships, so there's that.**

 **I'm going to stop putting up dates to expect my next chapter because I will be putting more focus into school than my hobbies. Once I have free time, I promise that McM (McMonsters) will be my first focus next to my upcoming Minecraft comic: _The Spell Inside_ (I'm hoping to start it this month at Deviantart!). I am happy to get this far within 9 months and I want to finish McM before Thanksgiving, or at least the 13th of December (which is the first day I published McM). I only have about 7 chapters to go, so wish me luck!**

 **Anyways, we all have our problems and I'm sorry for being a busy senior. Thanks for understanding and I hope to see you guys again in late September. If not, early October. I love reading your reviews, they always make my day, even if it takes forever for me to respond. :D**

 **~Rosie**

 **PS: I'm amused that Chapter 12 and 13 took about 10k words. Hah.**


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